Punjab & Haryana High Court Denies Emergency Parole to Hardcore Prisoner After Fresh NDPS Offence; Permits Custody Visit for Last Rites of Wife
Case Name: Virender @ Molad v. State of Haryana and Others
Date of Judgment: 1 January 2026
Citation: CRWP-14100-2025
Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Yashvir Singh Rathor
Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court declined to grant emergency parole to a hardcore convicted prisoner under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, holding that completion of five years of imprisonment after the date of the latest offence is a mandatory statutory requirement. The Court held that a prisoner who commits a subsequent cognizable offence cannot claim emergency parole until the statutory cooling-off period is completed. However, to balance humanitarian considerations, the Court permitted the petitioner to attend the last rites of his deceased wife under police custody and escort.
Summary: The petitioner, a life convict under Section 302 IPC, approached the High Court challenging the rejection of his application for emergency parole following the death of his wife. The application had been rejected by the Superintendent, Central Jail, Hisar, on the ground that the petitioner was a hardcore convicted prisoner and had recently been booked in a fresh FIR under the NDPS Act after contraband tablets were recovered from him upon his return to jail after availing parole in June 2025.
The petitioner contended that denial of emergency parole in such circumstances was harsh and violative of humanitarian principles. The State opposed the petition by pointing out that Section 6(2) of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022 clearly bars grant of emergency parole to a hardcore prisoner unless he has completed five years of imprisonment from the date of his latest offence.
The High Court examined the statutory scheme and held that the language of Section 6(2) is mandatory and leaves no discretion with the authorities or the Court to grant emergency parole before completion of the prescribed five-year period. Since the petitioner’s latest offence under the NDPS Act was committed on 4 June 2025, the statutory condition was admittedly not fulfilled.
At the same time, the Court recognised the exceptional humanitarian circumstance arising from the death of the petitioner’s wife. In order to strike a balance between statutory compliance and compassion, the Court permitted the petitioner to be taken to his place of residence under police escort for limited hours on two days to enable him to perform the last rites and rituals.
Decision: The writ petition was disposed of. Emergency parole was declined. However, the petitioner was permitted to visit his residence on 3 January 2026 and 4 January 2026 between 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. under police escort and at his own expense to perform the last rites of his deceased wife.