Gujarat High Court
Rajubhai Dalsinghbhai Ninama Thro ... vs State Of Gujarat on 1 August, 2025
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R/SCR.A/2129/2025 ORDER DATED: 01/08/202513 pt
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION (DIRECTION) NO. 2129 of 2025
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RAJUBHAI DALSINGHBHAI NINAMA THRO SOMLIBEN RAJUBHAI
NINAMA
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR A A ZABUAWALA(6823) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
NOTICE SERVED for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR HARDIK DAVE, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR assisted by MS SHRUTI
PATHAK with Mr. MANAN MEHTA APP For the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR
Date : 01/08/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Earlier, this Court had passed an order dated 30.07.2025,
and in continuation thereof, the Court is now inclined to pass
the present order in view of subsequent developments. Pursuant
to the order dated 31.07.2025, the Jail Superintendent,
Vadodara appeared before this Court and assured that action
would be taken against the erring officer. Today, the learned
Public Prosecutor has placed on record a show cause notice
issued to the concerned officers, calling upon them to explain
why departmental proceedings should not be initiated against
them.
2. Furthermore, the learned Public Prosecutor submitted that
in view of the observations made in the earlier order dated
30.07.2025, a circular has now been issued revoking the
previous circular dated 05.11.1988 bearing No.
JUD1/4360/1988, which dealt with the extension of set-off
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benefits.
3. As observed in the order dated 30.07.2025, the conduct of
respondent No.2 - Jail Superintendent, Vadodara reflected gross
negligence and a callous attitude. Despite the specific direction
issued on 11.07.2025 to recalculate the set-off period in
accordance with the conviction warrant and to release the
convict if eligible, the Jail Authority continued to delay
compliance. Although ample time was granted to rectify the
arithmetic error in the calculation of the set-off period,
respondent No.2 continued to justify the erroneous calculation.
The Jail record repeatedly reflected a set-off period of 4 months
and 55 days, whereas the conviction warrant explicitly
mentioned a set-off of 1 year, 4 months, and 1 day. Instead of
correcting the mistake, the State authorities attempted to defend
their flawed computation.
4. Consequently, the Court was constrained to pass an order
on 30.07.2025 directing the immediate release of the convict and
calling upon respondent No.2 to remain present on the next date
of hearing. In compliance with that direction, on 31.07.2025, the
Jail Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, and Senior Jailors
appeared personally before this Court. They were granted an
opportunity to explain the basis of their erroneous calculation
and their failure to rectify the same despite repeated directions.
However, rather than showing remorse, they again attempted to
justify their actions based on the revoked circular dated
05.11.1988, which is contrary to established legal principles and
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precedents laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, particularly
in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Najakat Ali Mubarak
Ali (2001) 6 SCC 311, interpreting Sections 427 and 428 of the
CrPC.
5. As per the Section 428 of the Cr.P.C. and Jail Manual and
Form No. 50 of the Criminal Manual, once the set-off period is
specified in the conviction warrant, the convict is required to
undergo only the remaining sentence. The role of the Court is to
determine the sentence; the responsibility of execution the
sentence lies with the State. In this case, the Jail Authorities,
instead of following the clear directions in the warrant,
unilaterally reduced the set-off period, resulting in the petitioner
undergoing an additional 2 months and 8 days of illegal
detention, which amounts to wrongful confinement and a
violation of Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Such
wrongful confinement, stemming from arbitrariness and high-
handedness, reflects a complete disregard for the fundamental
rights of the convict. Article 51A of the Constitution enjoins all
citizens to show compassion toward living beings. Jail inmates,
although convicts, do not lose their fundamental rights. Despite
repeated opportunities, the authorities failed to act with empathy
and continued with their illegal and arbitrary approach.
Considering these facts and keeping in mind the constitutional
guarantees to citizens under Articles 14, 19, and 21, this Court,
in exercise of its powers under Articles 226 of the Constitution of
India, finds this to be a fit case for the imposition of
compensation upon the erring officers in this regard, this Court
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deems it fit to refer the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme
Court, in the cases of Rudal Shah v. State of Bihar (1983) 4
SCC 141 and D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) 1 SCC
416, has recognized the remedy of compensation under public
law. Applying the ratio of these judgments, this Court deems it
fit to impose compensation upon the erring officer.
6. Today, Smt. Usha Rada, IPS, Jail Superintendent,
Vadodara, Mr. J.J. Parmar, Jailor, and Mr. N.G. Parikh, Jailor,
remained virtually present before this Court. Mr. M.A.
Chaudhary, Deputy Superintendent, Mr. V.D. Baria, Police
Inspector, and Mr. S.G. Mohit, Senior Clerk, were physically
present. Respondent No.2 - the Jail Superintendent - voluntarily
expressed her willingness to pay compensation to the convict-
applicant herein.
7. Considering the above, respondent No.2 is hereby directed
to pay compensation of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand
only) directly to the applicant-convict in his bank account
bearing No. 014110083335, maintained with India Post
Payments Bank, IFSC: IPOS0000001. Rule is made absolute.
8.1 Further, the respondent authority is directed to undertake
a comprehensive exercise to recalculate the set-off period for all
convicts as per their respective conviction warrants. After due
verification, updated admission cards/tickets of convicts and
relevant jail records shall be prepared in accordance with the
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circular dated 01.08.2025.
8.2 The concerned judicial officers who are jail visitors are
instructed that during their jail visits, they must verify jail
records to ensure that no under trial prisoners or convicts
remain illegally detained even for a minute beyond the
completion of their sentence or granting of bail.
8.3 It is hoped that the jail authorities will treat all inmates
with humanity and sensitivity, following the Model Jail Manual,
and do needful for rehabilitation of convicts and prisoners. The
Inspector General of Prisons shall ensure that a friendly and
compassionate atmosphere, akin to "Ashram," is required to be
created within the jails.
"The best way to find yourself is to lose
yourself in the service of others."
-- Mahatma Gandhi.
(HASMUKH D. SUTHAR,J)
ALI
