1. The 27 applicants are members of the Samyukt Socialist Party of India. In connection with the Food Agitation, they entered the court of the Additional Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Gyanpur, Varanasi, and interrupted the judicial proceedings which were going or there. The learned Magistrate, on September 25, 1964, convicted them for contempt of court and sentenced each one of them to a fine of Rs. 50 and, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for 15 days. As the applicants did not deposit the fines, they were sent to jail and warrants for realisation of the fines were also issued. On October 2, 1964, the applicants were released from jail under an order passed by the State Government under Section: 401, CrPC. The relevant portion of this order reads :
"The Government remits under S.401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure , 1898, unexpired period of substantive sentence of imprisonment and sentence in lieu of fine of such prisoners who were convicted in Food Agitation during August and September, 1964, and whose unexpired period pertains to substantive sentence of imprisonment and sentence in lieu of fine remains to be served for one month or less on 2nd October