The court directed the establishment of guidelines for granting parole to long-term convicts, considering both compassion and consistency.

1. This is a petition by Gurdeep Bagga who is convicted to imprisonment for life, on the charge of murder. The offence was committed on 8th October, 1980. The petitioner was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for life by an Additional Sessions Judge. His appeal against the conviction and sentence was dismissed by this Court on 11th Oct. 1985.

2. The petitioner was ordered to be released on parole by the Delhi Administration on 21st Dec. 1985 for a period of three weeks. The petitioner was released on 23rd Dec. 1985 and his parole was to end on 14th Jan. 1986.

3. On 20th Jan. 1986 the petitioner filed a petition under Art.226 of the Constitution of India in this Court with the prayer for the extension of parole period for three months (Criminal Writ No. 15 of 1986.) The extension of the parole period was sought on the ground of the serious condition of the mother Smt. Ram Murti Bagga. Ground 18(A) of the petition reads as under :
''Because the order of the respondent granting three weeks parole as against three months sought for is arbitrary and whimsical. The petitioner's mother had been admitted to the hospital and certain sophisticated investigation have to be carried out. After the petitioner surrenders to the jail authorities on 24-1-86, no one would be there to look after the petitioner's mother."
It was stated that Smt. Bagga is suffering from coronary heart disease and she gets repeated attacks of angina pectoris.

4. On 23rd Jan. 1986 this Court granted the petition and extended the parole for 8 weeks. The petitioner was required to surrender before the Superintendent of Jail, 'Tehar, on or before 20th March, 1986.

5. The petitioner filed Criminal Misc. 503 of 1986 for further extension of the parole. This was refused by this Court on 11th March, 1986.
5A. The petitioner against the aforesaid order went to the Supreme Court by way of a petition for special leave to appeal and on 20th March, 1986 a Bench of the Supreme Court extended the parole period for 8 weeks. Thereafter, the petitioner has been making repeated petitions to the Supreme Court for extension of the parole period and the same were granted to him from time to time and finally by an order dated 16th Dec. 1986 the parole period was extended up to 15th Feb. 1987. The petitioner again moved the Supreme Court for the extension of the parole period but his petition was rejected by a Bench of the Supreme Court on 16th Feb. 1987. The order of the Supreme Court is as follows :
"Criminal Miscellaneous Petition is dismissed. It is open to petitioner, if he is so advised, to move the High Court."

6. We are told by Shri Bhagat, Senior Advocate for the petitioner, that the extension of the parole period was sought on the ground now urged before us in the present petition.

7. After the aforesaid failure the petitioner on 17th Feb. 1987 filed an application before the Delhi Administration for parole which we are informed is pending consideration. 'On 4th March, 1987 the present petition has been filed for grant of parole for a period of 12 weeks. The main ground stated in the petition for the grant of parole is that the mother of 'the petitioner Smt. Ram Murthi Bagga has to be admitted in the Appollo Hospital; Madras for by - pass surgery. There is a photostat copy of a letter written by Dr. M.R. Girinath to the petitioner stating that he could plan to come to Madras on the 15th March, 1987 for admission. The petition is accompanied by a certificate of Dr. J.M. Dua dated 8th Feb. 1987 in which the doctor has certified that Smt. Ram Murthi Bagga has been suffering from moderate essential hypertension and that she has been on continuous medical therapy and has