While considering remission, parole cannot be considered as part of the sentence served: Supreme Court

On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld a decision by the Bombay High Court holding that a prisoner’s time served on parole cannot be added to the length of their sentence when determining whether they have served the minimum 14 years in prison required by the 2006 Goa Prison Rules [Rohan Dhungat v. State of Goa and ors].

Even under Section 55 of the 1984 Prisons Act, the sentence duration is not taken into account for computing parole release, according to a bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar.

“We are of the firm view that for the purpose of considering actual imprisonment, the period of parole is to be excluded,” the Court said.

This news is written by Ms. Amrita Singh, Research Assistant, All India Legal Forum.