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The Delhi High Court has directed the Government of NCT of Delhi to frame appropriate rules to deal with cases where convicts, due to age or serious medical incapacitation, are physically unable to surrender after expiry of parole or furlough periods.
Justice Amit Mahajan issued the direction while disposing of the plea of an 81-year-old convict woman, who is bedridden and unable to walk or perform basic activities without assistance. The Court observed that such gaps in the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018, force severely ill convicts into a state of "legal limbo" and emphasised the urgent need for a policy mechanism that addresses humanitarian circumstances beyond the control of prisoners. While noting that parole cannot be extended beyond the statutory limit of 16 weeks in a conviction year, the Court held that directing the elderly petitioner to surrender would be "inhumane", given her condition. Therefore, the Court ordered that she be confined to her home under the care of her son, until the authorities decide her case for premature release under Rule 1246A of the Delhi Prison Rules. The Court highlighted that although parole is only a temporary and limited privilege, the justice system cannot adopt a rigid approach that disregards human dignity. "The Court cannot be so inhumane so as to adopt a callous approach... she is not in a position to move or surrender," Justice Mahajan observed. A status report confirmed that the convict is completely bedridden. She has served more than four years of her seven-year sentence, and her parole has been repeatedly extended since 2017 due to multiple hip and thigh fractures and ongoing medical fragility. The State has been directed to decide her premature release within four weeks, while the broader policy directions to frame rules will address similar cases in the future. (ANI)
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