SC grants bail to Odisha life convict after 22 years in jail, slams Orissa HC for rejecting delayed appeal

New Delhi, May 8 The Supreme Court has ordered the release on bail of a life convict from Odisha who has remained behind bars for more than 22 years, taking strong exception to an Orissa High Court order which had dismissed his criminal appeal on the ground of a nearly nine-year delay in filing it.

Calling the impugned decision “very disturbing”, a Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that the High Court ought to have adopted a “practical view” and, at the very least, afforded the convict an opportunity to argue his appeal on merits.

The apex court was hearing a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Arjun Jani alias Tuntun against the January 11, 2016, order of the Orissa High Court, which had refused to condone a delay of 3,157 days in filing a criminal appeal against his conviction in a murder case.

The petitioner was tried before the court of the Additional Sessions Judge in Odisha’s Nabarangpur in connection with offences punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and was sentenced to life imprisonment on August 25, 2006.

The High Court, while dismissing the appeal as time-barred, had observed: “This appeal is beyond time by 3157 days. From the jail memo of appeal, we do not find any viable reason to condone the delay near about nine years. Delay condonation application is dismissed and appeal too stands dismissed.”

Taking exception to the approach adopted by the Odisha High Court, the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench said that the petitioner had already undergone over 12 years of imprisonment when the appeal was filed, and the fact that it was a jail appeal should have persuaded the High Court to adopt a sympathetic approach.

“The High Court, while declining to condone the delay, ought to have considered the fact that the petitioner was already undergoing sentence past 12 years. The High Court ought to have also considered that it was an appeal through jail. This itself was sufficient for the High Court to take a practical view or rather a sympathetic view of the matter and at least ought to have condoned the delay so as to give one opportunity to the petitioner to argue his criminal appeal on merits,” the top court said.

The order further noted that as of now, the petitioner has undergone almost 22 years of sentence and has never been released even once on parole or furlough during this entire period.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner also produced a conduct certificate issued by the Senior Superintendent of Circle Jail, Koraput, stating that the convict’s conduct and behaviour in prison had remained satisfactory and that no adverse remarks or punishment had ever been recorded against him.

Taking note of the long incarceration and satisfactory jail conduct, the Supreme Court said: “We are convinced that we should release the petitioner on bail in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case.”

“In exercise of our jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution as an exceptional case, we order that the petitioner be released on bail,” the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench added.

It directed that the petitioner be released on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent. The apex court also directed the District Legal Services Authority, Koraput, to assist the petitioner in preparing an appropriate representation seeking remission of sentence in accordance with the prevailing remission policy applicable to him.

“We have passed this order keeping in mind the fact that the petitioner is undergoing sentence past 22 years and has not been released even once during this period of 22 years. His jail conduct has also been found to be satisfactory,” the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench observed.

The matter has been posted for reporting compliance on May 28.

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