The main legal point established in the judgment is that the competent authority's determination of parole eligibility and apprehensions about the petitioner's behavior were crucial in deciding the petitioner's claim for parole.

Ram Chand Gupta, J.

1. The present petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing of impugned order, Annexure P1, and for issuance of direction to the respondents to allow four weeks parole to the petitioner to repair his ancestral house under Section 3(1)(d) of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 , (hereinafter to be referred as the `Act).

2. Reply has been filed on behalf of the respondents-State.

3. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the whole record carefully.

4. Petitioner is undergoing ten years rigorous imprisonment in FIR No. 189, dated 29.8.1999, under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, registered at Police Station Gohana, and to pay a fine of Rs. 1 lac and in default of payment of fine to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years. He was convicted by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, Sonepat, vide judgment dated 20.10.2000. Appeal against the said judgment was also dismissed by this Court. He remained undertrial in the said case from 16.10.2000 to 19.10.2000 and readmitted in the jail on 19.12.2008 on dismissal of the appeal by this Court and hence, as on today he has undergone less than two years of imprisonment.

5. Case of petitioner for his release on house repair parole was initiated by Superintendent, District Jail, Sonepat, i.e., respondent No. 2, vide letter Nos. 590-91 dated 9.2.2010 and sent to District Magistrate, Sonepat, for his recommendation as per Rules under the Act and a copy of the same was also sent to Commissioner, Rohtak Division, Rohtak, who is competent authority, for deciding the release of petitioner on parole. However, District Magistrate, Sonepat, did not recommend the parole case of the petitioner on the basis of report of Superintendent of Police, Sonepat, that the house of petitioner does not require any repairs and that moreover there are three brothers of the petitioner-convict, who are residing in the said house. It has also been mentioned that the convict intends to abscond from jail on the pretext of house repair parole and hence as the case of petitioner for release on parole has not been recommended by District Magistrate, Sonepat, competent authority, i.e., Commissioner, Rohtak Division, Rohtak, passed the impugned order rejecting the release of petitioner on parole. The reason given by the Commissioner, Rohtak Division, Rohtak, in impugned order, is that the house of convict is well built and is not liable to repair and that the convict will not return to jail after coming on parole and may become absconder.

6. A convict can be released on parole by competent authority under Section 3 of the Act, which reads as under:-

"3. Temporary release of prisoners on certain grounds. - (1) The State Government may, in consultation with the District Magistrate or any other officer appointed in this behalf, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to such conditions and in such manner as may be prescribed, release temporarily for a period specified in sub-section(2) any prisoner if the State Government is satisfied that :-

(a) a member of the prisoners family had died or is seriously ill; or the prisoner himself is seriously ill; or

(b) the marriage of the prisoner himself, his son, daughter, grandson, grand-daughter, brother, sister, sisters son or daughter is to be celebrated; or

(c) the temporary release of the prisoner is necessary for ploughing, sowing or harvesting or carrying on any other agricultural operation on his land or his fathers undivided land actually in possession of the prisoner; or

(d) it is desirable to do so for any other sufficient cause.

(2) The period for which a prisoner may be released shall be determined by the State Government so as not to exceed- (a) where the prisoner is to be released on the grounds specified in clause (a) of sub section (1), three weeks;

(b) where the pris