Omprakash @ O.P. Meena S/O Shri ... vs State Of Rajasthan
2023 Latest Caselaw 75 Raj/2

       HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
                   BENCH AT JAIPUR

                S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 256/2022

Omprakash @ O.p. Meena S/o Shri Girraj Prasad Meena, R/o
Patti Kalan, Police Station Bamanwas, Tehsil Bamanwas, District
Sawaimadhopur (Raj.) (At Present Confined In Central Jail Jaipur
(Raj.) Through His Younger Brother Rishiraj Meena S/o Shri
Girraj Prasad Meena, Aged About 28 Years, R/o Bamanwas Patti
Kalan, Police Station Bamanwas, Tehsil Bamanwas, District
Sawaimadhopur (Raj.)
                                                                      ----Petitioner
                                     Versus
1.      State    Of   Rajasthan,        Through         The       Secretary   Home,
        Secretariat, Jaipur (Raj.)
2.      The Director General Of Prisons Directorate Prisons
        Ghatgate, Jaipur (Raj.)
3.      Superintendent Central Jail, Jaipur (Raj.)
                                                                   ----Respondents

For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Tekchand Swami, Adv. For Respondent(s) : Mr. Atul Sharma, Public Prosecutor

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP KUMAR DHAND

Order

03/01/2023

Invoking the extra-ordinary jurisdiction of this Court

contained under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, instant

petition has been filed by the petitioner for quashing the

impugned order 10.03.2022 passed by the Open Air Camp

Advisory Committee (for short 'the Committee') whereby the

application filed by the petitioner for his transfer to Open Air Camp

has been rejected on the ground that two other criminal cases are

pending against the petitioner.

(2 of 3) [CRLW-256/2022]

Counsel for the petitioner submits that pendency of

other cases cannot be a ground to refuse the prayer of the

petitioner to shift him to open air camp. Counsel submits that jail

conduct of the petitioner is satisfactory. In support of his

contentions, he has placed reliance on the judgments passed by

this Court in case of Wasim Vs. State of Rajasthan and Ors.

:S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 514/2022 decided on

13.10.2022, Himanshu @ Lovely Vs. State of Rajasthan and

Ors. : S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 295/2022 decided on

27.09.2022 and Bhinva Ram Vs. State of Rajasthan and Anr. :

S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 1460/2021 decided on

18.10.2021. Counsel submits that proper directions be issued to

the authorities to shift the petitioner to Open Air Camp.

Per contra, learned Public Prosecutor has opposed the

prayer made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and has

submitted that as per Rule 3 of the Rajasthan Prisoners Open Air

Camp Rules, 1972 (for short 'the Rules of 1972'), the petitioner is

not entitled to be shifted to the Open Air Camp and no illegality

has been caused by the authorities while rejecting the application

filed by the petitioner because two other criminal cases are

pending against him.

Learned Public Prosecutor could not dispute the

aforesaid factual and legal proposition as already laid down by this

Court in the cases of Wasim (supra), Himanshu @ Lovely (supra)

and Bhinva Ram (supra).

Mere pendency of a criminal case is no bar for transfer

of a prison to Open Air Camp. Since the petitioner does not suffer

any of the ineligibility provided under Rule 3 of the Rules of 1972

(3 of 3) [CRLW-256/2022]

and rather, fulfills the eligibility criteria as laid down under Rule 4

of Rules of 1972, this criminal writ petition deserves to be allowed.

Resultantly, this criminal writ petition is allowed. The

impugned order dated 10.03.2022 passed by the Prisoners Open

Air Camp Advisory Committee is quashed and set aside qua the

petitioner. The respondents are directed to transfer the petitioner

from Central Jail, Jaipur to Open Air Camp immediately.

With the aforesaid directions, this Criminal Writ Petition

stands allowed.

(ANOOP KUMAR DHAND),J

MR/72

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