BILASPUR: Chhattisgarh high court has held that order by governor, under the provisions of Constitution, pardoning and releasing a convict is not illegal if the order is based on relevant material.
A single bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra dismissed a writ filed by Bharat assailing the legality and validity of Chhattisgarh governor’s order, exercising powers under article 161 of Constitution pardoning and releasing two convicts from jail.
The petitioner, who happens to be son of person who was murdered, pointed out two persons who were convicted for murder had moved an application for pardon before the governor.
Petitioner’s counsel Vimlesh Bajpai argued that the sentence of life imprisonment would mean that the convict shall remain in jail for entire life therefore their release by granting remission or pardon is contrary to the settled legal position. However, deputy advocate Arun Sao, appearing for state, submitted that it’s not so. High court, in its order, noted that the power of clemency or pardon conferred on governor under article 161 of the constitution is a plenary power and is not circumscribed by any fetter imposed under the criminal procedure code.
In the case at hand, the order said, the record indicated that an application for clemency/pardon was processed in the department and a report was called for from jail authorities. Based on the report, their cases were recommended by the department as also by the chief minister and later the governor exercised his powers for granting pardon.Noting that it is not a case where power has been exercised in an arbitrary or unreasonable manner, the high court said it did not find any infirmity in the impugned order.
TOI | Feb 17, 2015
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