JUDGMENT

KRISHNA IYER, J.:— Leave is granted on the question of sentence only.

2. This is a case where the accused have been acquitted of counterfeiting but have been convicted of possession of materials for counterfeiting. It makes little difference from the point of view of guilt and injury to society. The trial court awarded a sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment and that has been affirmed by the High Court. We think that harsh and prolonged incarceration may sometimes be selfdefeating. The most hurtful part of imprisonment is the initial stage when a person is confined in prison. Thereafter he gets sufficiently hardened and callous with the result that by the time he is processed through the years inside the prison he becomes more dehumansied. The whole goal of punishment being curative is thereby defeated. The accent must therefore be more and more on rehabilitation, rather than retributive punitivity inside the prison. In this context, it is helpful to remember items 58 & 59 in the rules applicable to prisoners under sentence framed as the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (U. N. Document A/COF/6/1, Annex. 1. A.):

58. The purpose and justification of a