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2026 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 29353
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
G. Girish, J
Usha K – Appellant
Versus
State Of Kerala – Respondent
WP(CRL.) NO.741 OF 2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Jerry Mathew
For the Respondents: Sangeetharaj NR
The court will not exercise its discretionary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to grant emergency leave to a convict when the underlying cause for such leave (e.g., attending a funeral) has become infructuous due to the passage of time.
Headnote:The petitioner filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking emergency leave for her husband, a convict undergoing life imprisonment, to attend the post-funeral rites of an aunt. The court observed that the requested date for the rites had already passed, rendering the petition infructuous. The main issue was to determine whether a case for invoking extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 existed to facilitate emergency leave. The court determined that as the event in question, scheduled for May 7, 2026, had significantly preceded the date of consideration, there was no urgent justification to exercise its authority to issue directions to the prison authorities. The petition was dismissed.
| Table of Content |
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| 1. emergency leave requests become infructuous once the event date has passed. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
JUDGMENT
The wife of convict No.411, Suresh Babu, undergoing life imprisonment at Open Prison and Correctional Home, Cheemeni, Kasaragod, has filed this writ petition seeking emergency leave to the above convict to enable him to attend the post funeral rites of his departed aunt scheduled to be held on 07.05.2026.
2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor representing the State of Kerala.
3. The reason stated by the petitioner for granting emergency leave to her husband is that he should be provided with an opportunity to attend the post funeral rites of his aunt, which is scheduled to be held on 07.05.2026. The aforesaid function is now already over. In the above circumstances, there is no urgent need to invoke the powers of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue direction to the respondents to grant emergency leave to the petitioner’s husband.
In the result, the petition is hereby dismissed.
