NDPS Convict Gets 8 Weeks’ First Parole To Visit Family And Repair Home, As P&H HC Finds Risk Fears Unsupported

The petitioner, convicted under Section 22 of the NDPS Act and sentenced to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment, sought eight weeks’ parole to meet his family and repair his house.

This was his first parole application; the village Panchayat had supported it, and his appeal against conviction had been admitted.

The Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate rejected the application on August 28, 2026, relying principally on the police report and concerns that the petitioner might abscond or resume drug peddling.

The petitioner challenged that order under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, read with Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023.

Section 6(2) of the Punjab Prisoners Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1962 provides that a prisoner is not entitled to release where, on the relevant District Magistrate’s report, the State Government or its authorised officer is satisfied that release is likely to endanger the security of the State or the maintenance of public order.

The statutory bar requires a reasoned satisfaction supported by material; a bare apprehension is insufficient, and involvement in other criminal cases, by itself, does not constitute sufficient grounds to deny parole.

The Court accepted that the petitioner’s criminal antecedents and the nature of the allegations were relevant considerations, but found that the respondents had produced no specific, cogent or tangible material showing a real and proximate likelihood that his release would threaten State security or disturb public order.

The concerns that he might abscond or return to drug peddling were expressed as apprehensions, not supported by objective material capable of satisfying Section 6(2).

The petitioner had not previously been released on parole or misused that concession, and his application was supported by the Panchayat; the Court considered that any remaining risk could be addressed through stringent release conditions.

It directed the petitioner’s release on parole for eight weeks, subject to bonds and sureties and appropriate conditions imposed by the releasing Court or Duty Magistrate to secure his surrender and prevent misuse.

The petitioner was required to surrender on the notified date, and the State was directed to report his surrender to the Court.