Judgment

S. RATNAVEL PANDIAN, J.:- Leave granted in Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 1158 of 1985.

2. The State of Haryana has preferred these two appeals against the Judgment and Order of the Punjab & Haryana High Court .dated 21-12-1984* in Writ Petitions Nos. 399/ 83 and 251/ 83 respectively passing similar orders directing the State Government to consider the cases of the respondents for premature release.

* Reported in 1985 Cri LJ 941 (Punj & Har)

3. The facts which lie in a very narrow compass may be stated thus:

The respondents were convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to death by the Additional Sessions Judge, Karnal which sentence inflicted on each of them was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment on mercy petitions.

4. It seems that the State Government issued various executive instructions from time to time either altering or amending the existing instructions by fresh executive instructions specifying the minimum period of actual detention to be undergone by a convict sentenced to life imprisonment before his case for premature release could be considered by the State Government. To appreciate the case of the respective parties it would