Being young and single cannot be reason to deny leave, says court

Nagpur Bank in Bombay High Court ruled that condemned cannot be denied leave or parole simply because they are young and single. The assumption that a Single The contention that a prisoner was more likely to abscond was baseless and unfair, a division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Vrushali Joshi said, directing Nagpur jail officials to re-examine the case of a murder convict who was denied permission to visit his family.
Prahlad Gupta of Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh, currently serving a triple life sentence in Nagpur Central Jail, has sought 28 days of leave to spend time with his family. “The petitioner’s request for leave has been rejected solely on the ground that he is 26 years old and still unmarried and, therefore, the possibility of his absconding cannot be ruled out. We do not consider this to be a good ground,” the court said.
“Even if the police authority has issued an adverse report, the sanctioning authority must consider the overall situation… The special IG (prisons) cannot blindly accept the police report,” he added.