The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the power to grant pardon to the convicts by the state governments should not be used arbitrarily or with ulterior motives.

With a note of caution to the authorities, a bench of Justices H K Sema and Markandey Katju said: “The special power given to the state authorities should be used only in deserving cases.”

The court said some of the prisoners to be released might be habitual offenders and might be a “menace to society” and the committee to review the terms of prison did not have the authority to recommend the life terms to 7 years. The court dismissed a batch of public interest petitions, which sought direction to the government for laying down some uniform guidelines for premature release of the convicts serving life imprisonment or facing death sentences.

Many petitioners submitted that some states like Haryana, Andhra Pradesh had been releasing convicts for dubious considerations and not for their exemplary conducts and behaviour in jail.

One of the petitioners, Anil Kumar Sharma, had made serious allegations of favouritism against the then Om Prakash Chautala government in Haryana for releasing many criminals on the eve of assembly elections in the state. According to the petitioners, states have been misusing these powers for political considerations and such misuse of powers must be checked and in the name of reformation of offenders those involved in heinous crimes should not be released, as such elements pose great threat to society at large.

The petitioners also pleaded that justice should be done to the victim also and it should not remain confined to the offenders alone.

Lok Adalats

The Supreme Court also said that the Lok Adalats do not have the power to ‘hear’ litigating parties to adjudicate cases like a court does. Coming down heavily on a Lok Adalat in Punjab for giving an enhanced compensation in a motor vehicle accident claim case, a bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishanan, Justices G P Mathur and R V Raveendran said, “We are rather dismayed at the manner in which the entire matter has been dealt with, undermining the very purpose and object of Lok Adalats. At every stage the Lok Adalat and the High Court (Punjab and Haryana) have acted in a manner contrary to law.”