HC pulls up Bharatpur collector, SP over arbitrary parole rejection

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court Friday came down heavily on the Bharatpur Collector and the Superintendent of Police for rejecting a prisoner's parole application without proper reasons, saying such mechanical decisions were pushing avoidable cases into court and choking judicial time.A division bench of Justice Mahendra Goyal and Justice Bhuvan Goyal said authorities were acting as if the court were a "post office," routinely turning down parole requests and leaving the judiciary to fix the fallout. The bench said the steady rise in parole litigation prevented the court from taking up other urgent matters.
The observations were made while hearing a petition by Anil Kapoor alias Rinku, lodged in Bharatpur Central Jail, challenging the district administration's refusal to grant him parole. The bench noted the prisoner has completed 12 years in custody and has been in an open jail for the last four years, a placement that typically indicates satisfactory conduct. Questioning the decision-making process, the court asked why the collector and the SP failed to apply independent judgment and instead relied on a head constable's report. "Why did you not apply your mind? You simply relied on the report of a head constable," the bench asked the collector and the SP, who were present in the court. Advocate Govind Prasad Rawat, appearing for the petitioner, told the court the prisoner's conduct was satisfactory and that the joint director of the social justice and empowerment department in Bharatpur had recommended parole, but the application was rejected based on the SP's report. The court said it had earlier pressed senior officials to introduce corrective measures in the parole review system but found no meaningful improvement. During the Friday hearing, the Bharatpur collector informed the bench that the prisoner has now been granted 20 days' parole after reconsideration. The bench had earlier summoned the Bharatpur collector, SP, Director General of Police, and the additional chief secretary (Home) to explain how parole applications were being rejected. On Friday, the collector and SP appeared in person. The DGP and ACS (Home) were exempted from personal appearance due to the ongoing assembly session. The matter will be heard next on March 16. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !