1. The petitioner Faqir Singh is undergoing life imprisonment in Central Jail, Gurdaspur. As per Government instructions his case for premature release was to be considered by the State Government after he had actually undergone 81/2 years of sentence and 14years of sentence including remissions. So far his case has not been considered by the Government on the ground that he does not fulfil these conditions because he has undergone actual imprisonment for only 8 years one month and ten days.

2. The contention on behalf of the petitioner is that in calculating the actual period of imprisonment undergone by him the time spent by him on parole has wrongly not been included. To this the reply on behalf of the State Government is that the period spent on parole cannot be considered to be a part of actual imprisonment. Thus, the vital point for consideration in this case is whether the time spent by a prisoner on parole is or is not to be included in the period of undergone actual imprisonment.

3. Light on this subject is thrown by the Supreme Court in Maru Ram V/s. Union of India, AIR 1980 SC 2147: (1980 Cri LJ 1440). In para 71 of this judgment it is observed that the expressio