The Punjab & Haryana High Court while granting relief to a man convicted for rioting, among other things, has held that Courts have ample power to release the first offender of minor offences on probation, keeping in focus the nature and manner of the crime, age of the offender, other antecedents and attending circumstances of the offence instead of committing him to jail.

The Court was considering a Revision Petition against an order of the Trial Court whereby the Petitioner was held guilty and convicted under Sections 148, 323 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of maximum one year.

The Bench of Justice Manisha Batra held, "Therefore, the conjoint and meaningful reading of the beneficial provisions of the Probation Act would reveal that non-obstante clause contained in Section 4that points to the conclusion that the provisions of this Section would have overriding effect, shall prevail if the conditions described therein are fulfilled. Meaning thereby, the Court has the ample power to release the first offender of minor offences on probation, keeping into focus the nature & manner of the crime, age of the offender, other antecedents and attending circumstances of the offence instead of committing him to jail."

The Petitioner was represented by Advocate H. S. Mann, while the Respondent was Additional Advocate General Sakshi Bakshi.

Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that he does not intend to press the Petition on the grounds as taken in the Revision Petition and restricted his argument to the extent that the benefit of probation be granted to the Petitioner.

The Court noted that the Petitioner was undergoing rigorous imprisonment from 9 years and has already undergone actual imprisonment of a period of 1 month and 17 days and in the intervening period has not been involved in any other criminal case.

The Court referred to the Supreme Court's ruling in Kishore Prasad v. State of Bihar, 1972 AIR (SC) 2522, which discusses aims and objection of the Probation Act. Reliance was also placed on Isher Das v. State of Punjab, AIR, 1972 Supreme Court 1295 and and Arvind Mohan Sinha v. Amulya Kumar Biswas and others, 1974 AIR (SC) 1818.

"The object underlying the provisions of Sections Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 (for brevity "the Probation Act") & 361 of Cr.PC, is that the first offenders be not sent to jail for the commission of less serious offences, on account of grave risk to their attitude to life to which they are likely to be exposed as a result of their association with the hardened and habitual criminal inmates of the jail. Their stay in jail in such circumstances might well attract them towards a life of crime instead of -4- the interest of society, be treated as being socially stick. Crimes are not always rooted in criminal tendencies and their origin may lie in psychological factors induced by hunger, want and poverty. The Probation of Offenders Act recognises the importance of environmental influence in the commission of crimes and prescribes a remedy whereby the offender can be reformed and rehabilitated in society. An attitude of social defiance recklessness which comes to a convict who, after a jail term, is apt to think that he has no more to lose or fear may breed a litter of crime. The object of the Probation of Offenders Act is to nip that attitude in the bud...", the Court observed.

Considering the attendant facts and circumstances of the case which the Petitioner has undergone during protracted trial, appeal, revision, nature of offence, totality of other facts and circumstances emanating from the record, the Court was of the opinion that no useful purpose would be served by detaining his into jail to serve out the remaining period of sentence and instead of that he be released on probation.

The Petition was accordingly dismissed.

Cause Title: Gora Singh vs. State of Punjab (2025:PHHC:107713)

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Punjab & Haryana High CourtJustice Manisha Batra

Sheetal Joon