The Delhi high court on Tuesday set aside the decision refusing the premature release of the convict serving life term for the rape and murder of law student Priyadarshini Mattoo in 1996, saying the convict's reformative conduct was not considered.
The high court said it found an element of reformation in convict Santosh Kumar Singh and referred the matter back to the sentence review board (SRB) to consider afresh his plea for premature release.
"No effcort was made to evaluate the petitioner's (Singh) demonstrable reformative progress, including advanced educational qualifications, documented good conduct and participation in rehabilitation programmes," Justice Sanjeev Narula said in an 82-page judgment.
The court noted Singh was presently lodged in an 'open prison' which entitles him to exit the jail complex daily between 8 am and 8 pm for gainful employment.
The placement in such a prison category is a reflection of the "positive reformative conduct" of the convict and this was a critical indicator of reform which the SRB has failed to even acknowledge, let alone evaluate, it said.
The court said the SRB decision to reject Singh's premature release plea cannot be sustained as the rejection order neither discloses a meaningful application of mind nor reflects a reasoned analysis of the reformative efforts made by him.
The board's reliance on the generic assertion that jail conduct is not a reliable indicator of post-release behaviour is misplaced, it said.
The court passed a common order in four separate cases which raised fundamental questions relating to the functioning of the SRB of the Delhi government, the executive body tasked with deciding whether convicts serving life sentences merit premature release.
The factual distinctions were dealt with separately by the court in each of the cases. -- PTI
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