Jodhpur: The Jodhpur High Court has ordered the release of a man on parole for 15 days so that his wife can become mother.
The woman asserted her “right of progeny” by approaching the court and seeking her husband’s release.
The bench of Justices Sandeep Mehta and Farzand Ali were of the view that the sexual and emotional needs of the prisoner’s wife were affected due to his imprisonment.
The court cited Hindu scriptures, including Rig Veda, and also referred to tenets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to grant 15-day parole to 34-year-old Nandlal, so that his wife Rekha could conceive.
The court stressed that of the 16 sacraments (essential ceremonies), conceiving a child is the first and constitutes right of the woman.
“Having progeny for the purpose of preservation of lineage, has been recognized through religious philosophies, the Indian culture and various judicial pronouncements. The right of progeny can be performed by conjugal association, the same has an effect of normalising the convict and also helps to alter the behaviour of the convict-prisoner,” the court said, adding that the purpose of parole is to let the convict re-enter the mainstream of society peacefully after his release.
“The wife of the prisoner has been deprived of her right to have progeny whilst she has not committed any offence and is not under any punishment. Thus, denial to the convict-prisoner to perform conjugal relationship with his wife more particularly for the purpose of progeny would adversely affect the rights of his wife.”
Nandlal, serving life sentence pronounced by a Bhilwara court in Rajasthan, is lodged in Ajmer jail. He had been granted 20-day parole in 2021, when he behaved well and surrendered when it expired.
