##PAGE1##

1

2026:CGHC:13625-DB

NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR

WPCR No. 153 of 2026

Raju @ Devendra Choubey S/o Rajend Kumar Choubey Aged About 45 Years R/o Purana Bus Stand Simga, Thana And Tahsil Simga, Distt. Raipur, Present

Distt. Balodabazar Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh.

... Petitioner

versus

1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Additional Secretary, Home (Jail)

Department, Government Of Chhattisgarh, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, Distt. Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

2 - Director General (Prisons And Rehabilitation Services) Jail Department, Jail Headquarters, Sector 19, Nava Raipur, Atal Nagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

3 - Jail Superintendent Durg, Central Jail, Durg, Chhattisgarh.

---- Respondents (Cause title taken from Case Information System)

For Petitioner : Mr. Vikas Kumar Pandey, Advocate For Respondents/State : Mr. Priyank Rathi, Govt. Advocate

Hon'ble Shr i Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri R avindra Kumar Agrawal, Judge

Order on Board

Per Ramesh Sinha, C.J.

VED

23/03/2026 PRAKASH DEWANGAN

1. The present writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Digitally signed by VED PRAKASH

DEWANGAN Constitution of India challenging the legality and validity of the order Date: 2026.03.25 11:26:53 +0530

2

dated 12.12.2025 (Annexure P/1), whereby the application preferred by the petitioner for grant of remission/premature release has been rejected by the respondent authorities, primarily on the basis of an adverse opinion furnished by the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police, without assigning cogent reasons and without

due consideration of the relevant factors governing such exercise.

2. The petitioner has filed the present petition with the following prayer:-

“10.1 The Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash the order dated 12/12/25 (Annexure P/1) passed by the respondent authorities and direct the Respondent State to prematurely release the petitioner, in accordance with law, in the interest of

justice.

10.2 This Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other relief as it may deem fit in the

interest of justice.”

3. The facts of the case in brief are that, the petitioner was convicted for

the offences punishable under Sections 302, 34 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment along with fine by the learned trial Court. As per the prosecution case, the co- accused Shashi Tripathi, who was the step mother-in-law of the deceased Bhawna Tripathi, allegedly conspired with other accused persons, including the present petitioner, to commit the murder of the deceased due to domestic disputes, and in furtherance of such conspiracy, the deceased was murdered on 25.11.2003. The conviction

3

and sentence of the petitioner have attained finality, as the appeal preferred before this Court in Criminal Appeal No. 244/2005 was dismissed vide judgment dated 17.09.2010, and the further appeal before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Criminal Appeal Diary No.

822/2012 was also dismissed vide order dated 21.08.2014.

******* It is the case of the petitioner that he has undergone more than 14 years of actual imprisonment and has earned remission during his incarceration. Upon completion of the requisite period, the petitioner preferred an application seeking premature release/remission, which was recommended by the Jail Superintendent, Central Jail, Durg, and forwarded to the competent authority. The matter was processed in terms of Section 432(2) of Cr.P.C., wherein opinion of the concerned authorities was sought; however, the respondent State, vide impugned order dated 12.12.2025, rejected the application solely on the basis of an adverse opinion furnished by the authorities, without independently considering the relevant parameters governing grant of remission,

thereby leading to filing of the present writ petition.

4. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that, the impugned

order dated 12.12.2025 is wholly arbitrary, cryptic and suffers from non- a