( 1 ) THE petitioners herein have been convicted for offences including the offence punishable under Section 302, IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. They submitted applications through the Superinten dent, Central Jail, Gwalior, praying for release on licence under Section 2 of the Madhya Pradesh Prisoners' Release on Probation Act, 1954, for short, the 'act' and Rule 6 of the Madhya Pradesh Prisoners' Release on Probation Rules, 1964, for short, the 'rules'. The State Government re jected the applications on consideration of the views of the Probation Board which acted on the recommendation of the District Magistrate. The respective orders of the State Government are under challenge in these cases.

( 2 ) IN Misc. Civil Case No. 47 of 1988 (State v. Chandersingh) of the Indore Bench of the High Court, the Court took the view that an application for release has to be disposed of on consideration of the applicants' antecedents only prior to the commission of the crime which led to the convic tion and conduct in the prison and that the nature and character of the crime and the conduct of the applicant after the commission of the crime till he entered th