(i) Furlough – Is an incentive towards good jail conduct, even if the person is otherwise not to get any remission and has to remain in prison for whole of the reminder of his natural life, that does not, as a corollary, means that his right to seek furlough is foreclosed – Even if he would spend some time on furlough, that will not come to his aid so as to seek remission because of the fact that he has to remain in prison for whole of the reminder of his natural life.
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(ii) Parole and Furlough – Parole is akin to temporary suspension of execution of sentence – There cannot be any temporary suspension of execution of sentence qua the appellant inasmuch as the sentence awarded to him has to run in perpetuity and during the whole of his natural life – Moreover, for parole, conduct is not a decisive factor – In fact, some cause or event predominantly decides the question whether the person is to be admitted to parole or not? When the appellant is to undergo the sentence for whole of his natural life, any cause or event may not give him any right to claim parole – However, in contradistinction to parole, in furlough, the prisoner is deemed to be serving the sentence inasmuch as the period of furlough is not reduced from actual serving period – And, the conduct is predominantly decisive of entitlement towards furlough – Thus, even if the appellant would be on furlough, he would be deemed to be serving the sentence for all time to come. Held, Entitlement of furlough cannot be decided in the case of the present nature as the sentence awarded to him has to run in perpetuity and during the whole of his natural life, with reference to the question as to whether any remission would be available or not – Even if the appellant would get furlough (of course, on fulfilment of other conditions) that would not result into any remission because whatever be the remission, he has to spend the whole of the life in prison. But that does not debar him from furlough if he is of good jail conduct and fulfils other eligibility requirements.
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(iii) Furlough – Cannot be read to mean that getting remission is a pre-requisite for obtaining furlough. The whole of the scheme of granting furlough is based on the approach of reformation and as incentive for maintaining good conduct – Observations of this Court in the case of Asfaq v. State of Rajasthan & Ors., (2017) 15 SCC 55, to the effect that ‘Furlough is granted as a good conduct remission' have been wrongly taken by the High Court as decisive of the matter and leading to the conclusion that furlough is available only if remission is available – We are unable to agree with this line of reasoning of the High Court – Those observations of this Court in paragraph 14 on the decision in Asfaq (supra) cannot be read in isolation.
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(iv) Furlough – Even if the appellant is to remain in prison for the whole of remainder of his life, the expectations from him of good conduct in jail would always remain; and the lawful consequences of good conduct, including that of furlough, cannot be denied, (particularly when the same has not been prohibited in the order dated 15.11.2012) – We need not elaborate to say that depriving of even the concession of furlough and thereby taking away an incentive/motivation for good conduct would not only be counter-productive but would be an antithesis to the reformative approach otherwise running through the scheme of Rules of 2018 – Looking to the concept of furlough and the reasons for extending this concession to a prisoner lead us to hold that even if a prisoner like the appellant is not to get any remission in his sentence and has to serve the sentence of imprisonment throughout his natural life, neither the requirements of his maintaining good conduct are whittled down nor the reformative approach and incentive for good conduct cease to exist in his relation – Thus, if he maintains good conduct, furlough cannot be denied as a matter of course – Delhi Prison Act, 2000, S. 2(h) – Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 Rule 1199 and Para 1223(I). [Para 15, 17](viii) Furlough – Whether furlough is to be granted in a given case or not is a matter entirely different – Taking the case of the appellant, he is a person convicted of multiple murders – Therefore, the requirement of Rule 1225 of the Rules of 2018 may come into operation – However, it cannot be said that his case would never be considered for furlough – Whether he is to be given furlough on the parameters delineated therein or not is a matter to be examined by the authorities in accordance with law – Delhi Prison Act, 2000, S. 2(h) – Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 Rule 1199 and Para 1225 .
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