Kerala High Court denies emergency leave to life convict for Wife’s pregnancy care, stresses victims’ rights

The Kerala High Court has refused to grant emergency leave to a life convict to care for his wife, who is two months pregnant through IVF treatment, holding that extraordinary powers under Article 226 cannot be used to overlook the interests of victims in serious offences.

Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan observed that while considering parole under its extraordinary jurisdiction, the Court must balance the needs of convicts with the rights and sentiments of victims and their families.

"Forgetting the victims, no court can grant parole to convicts sentenced in serious cases, invoking the extraordinary powers of this court," the judge said.

Referring to Rule 400(1) of the Kerala Prisons & Correctional Services (Management) Rules, 2014, the Court noted that emergency leave is ordinarily granted only in three situations — death or serious illness of close relatives, marriage of close relatives, or partial/complete collapse of the convict’s house. Citing Sandhya v. Secretary, Secretariat, Tvm. [2023 (5) KHC 174], it acknowledged that courts may grant leave in rare, exceptional cases outside these grounds, but found that the present plea did not qualify.

The petitioner, the convict’s wife, claimed she had no one to assist her during a high-risk pregnancy. The Court, however, upheld the Prison Superintendent’s decision rejecting the request, noting that the convict was serving a life sentence for murder.

The Bench cautioned against a growing trend of convicts seeking emergency leave for non-urgent occasions like birthdays, ceremonies, or festivals, recalling its recent refusal to allow a convict in the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case to attend his child’s rice-feeding ceremony.

"If this trend continues, convicts will soon come to this court to participate in temple festivals, church festivals, family trips, or pilgrimages. Fundamental rights of convicts are largely suspended in prison and cannot be diluted by routinely granting emergency leave unless there are extraordinary circumstances," the Court remarked.

The petition was dismissed.