HC rejects woman’s plea to release convict-husband to beget baby

Madurai: Madras high court rejected a woman's plea seeking ordinary leave for her life-convict husband so as to beget a child through him, saying the right and welfare of the child have to be considered, as the child would have to grow up with a stigma of being born to a convict of a heinous crime."The child, when it enters this world, will grow up with a stigma that it is the child of a life convict, who is serving sentence for having committed a heinous crime involving triple murder," said a division bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh and Justice K K Ramakrishnan on Wednesday."The court cannot merely act upon the right that is claimed by the petitioner and ignore the interest of the child, which will carry such a stigma throughout its life. The court cannot turn a blind eye to this reality and, therefore, while balancing the right of the petitioner and the child, the court is more concerned about the welfare of the child, to be born in this world and which will face the consequences psychologically exerted by the society for the heinous acts committed by the convict, the judges observed."The theory of reformation is focused on the convict and that has nothing to do with the desire of a convict to have a child, which for no fault on its part is going to carry a stigma throughout its life. Neither the petitioner nor the convict will have the right to place the child in such an unfortunate position right through its life," the judges observed and dismissed the petition.The court was hearing the petition filed by Jalani seeking to grant ordinary leave for her husband, I Muthumani, one of the 26 convicts sentenced to undergo life imprisonment in the murder of three people belonging to the scheduled caste community at Kachanatham village in Sivaganga district in 2018.In 2022, the special court for exclusive trial of cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Sivaganga convicted and sentenced the petitioner's husband to undergo life imprisonment. The judgment of the trial court was confirmed by the high court in Feb 2026. No appeal has been filed before Supreme Court.The petitioner submitted a representation to the prison authorities seeking ordinary leave for her husband on the ground that she is desirous of having a child through him, but was rejected by the prison authorities citing life threat to the man. Challenging the rejection order, she petitioner moved court seeking relief. The state govt, on its part, said leave under Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982, cannot be claimed as a matter of right and it is only a privilege that has been given to the convict.