Hemant Kumar Bhuary vs State Of Chhattisgarh

Ramesh Sinha, CJ

The present Criminal Miscellaneous Petition has been filed by the petitioner under Section 528 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita for extension of time to comply with the condition stipulated in Para 6(iv) of the judgment dated 15.07.2024 passed in Criminal Revision No. 127 of 2014, whereby the revision filed by the petitioner was disposed of with certain directions, including a conditional exemption from surrendering to undergo the remaining sentence for a period of six months.

As per clause (iv) of the said order, the petitioner was granted a conditional reprieve from surrendering to serve out the remainder of his sentence for a period of six months, subject to the petitioner fulfilling the conditions laid down in the judgment. The relevant portion reads as follows:

“For a period of 06 months, revisionist need not surrender to undergo remaining sentence. If no orders for commutation in favour of revisionist is passed by the appropriate government, within the aforesaid period (3 months), the revisionist would be obliged to surrender only upon refund of fine deposited by him.”

It is evident that the directions were unambiguously time-bound, and compliance with the conditions was mandatory. The judgment itself makes it clear in clause (vi) that in case of default, the revisionist was under an obligation to forthwith surrender after six weeks to serve out the remainder of the sentence.

In the present case, the record reveals that the petitioner did not comply with the stipulations contained in the judgment dated 15.07.2024. Neither was the additional fine deposited before the trial Court within the stipulated time, nor did the petitioner take appropriate steps for seeking commutation of sentence before the State Government as directed.

The petitioner was accordingly taken into custody on 15.07.2024, upon expiry of the grace period. By way of the instant CRMP, the petitioner now seeks extension of time for compliance with the original directions of this Court.

This Court finds no merit in the petition. The liberty granted to the petitioner under the judgment dated 15.07.2024 was conditional, specific, and time-bound. The petitioner failed to comply with the said conditions within the stipulated time. Once the petitioner defaulted in fulfilling the conditions, the direction for exemption from surrender automatically ceased to operate, and the consequences laid down in clause (vi) came into effect.

The present prayer for extension of time, after the expiry of the period and subsequent arrest of the petitioner, is nothing but an attempt to re-open a concluded matter and circumvent the clear and binding terms of the judgment, which is impermissible in law.

It is trite law that a conditional judgment of relief cannot be claimed as a matter of right once the conditions are violated, especially when the judgment itself clearly specifies the consequence of non-compliance.

Accordingly, the Criminal Miscellaneous Petition is dismissed.

The petitioner shall remain in custody to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Registry is directed to send a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance.