New Delhi: The Supreme Court granted bail to a murder convict from Odisha who has spent more than 22 years behind bars, sharply criticising the Orissa High Court for rejecting his appeal solely on grounds of a nearly nine-year delay in filing it without examining the matter on merits.
A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan described the High Court’s decision as “very disturbing” and emphasised that the court should have taken a more practical and sympathetic approach, particularly since the appeal had been filed from jail by a convict already undergoing life imprisonment.
The ruling came on a special leave petition filed by Arjun Jani, also known as Tuntun, challenging the HC’s January 11, 2016 order. The High Court had dismissed his criminal appeal as time-barred after refusing to condone a delay of 3,157 days, nearly nine years.
Jani was convicted in a murder case by the Additional Sessions Judge in Nabarangpur and sentenced to life imprisonment on August 25, 2006, under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Supreme Court took strong exception to this stance. Justice Pardiwala-led bench observed that by the time the appeal was filed, the petitioner had already served over 12 years in prison. The fact that it was a jail appeal should have prompted the High Court to adopt a more lenient view, the apex court said. “The High Court, while declining to condone the delay, ought to have considered the fact that the petitioner was already undergoing sentence past 12 years. The High Court ought to have also considered that it was an appeal through jail. This itself was sufficient for the High Court to take a practical view or rather a sympathetic view of the matter and at least ought to have condoned the delay so as to give one opportunity to the petitioner to argue his criminal appeal on merits,” the bench remarked.
The top court further noted that the convict has now served nearly 22 years without being released even once on parole or furlough during this period.
During the hearing, his counsel presented a conduct certificate from the Senior Superintendent of Circle Jail, Koraput, confirming satisfactory behaviour in prison with no adverse remarks or punishments recorded against him.
Taking into account the prolonged incarceration and good conduct, the Supreme Court exercised its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and ordered Jani’s release on bail as an exceptional case. The petitioner has been directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 10,000 to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent.
The court also instructed the District Legal Services Authority in Koraput to assist him in filing a representation for remission of sentence under the applicable policy. “We have passed this order keeping in mind the fact that the petitioner is undergoing a sentence past 22 years and has not been released even once during this period… His jail conduct has also been found to be satisfactory,” the bench stated.
The matter has been listed for reporting compliance on May 28.
