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Judgment
V.S. Aggarwal, J.
Petitioners were arrested on 20.5.1937. They were held guilty for the offence punishable under Sections 302/ 34 IPC and were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. They seek a direction for extending better class facilities to them in view of para 576A, of the Punjab Jail Manual. Petitioners claim that they were paying income tax and belong to high class family and are accustomed to a superior standard of living.
The petition has been contested. It has been alleged by the State that the petitioners do not satisfy the conditions prescribed by the State Government vide the instructions issued dated 25.5.1983. The petitioners are neither Graduate nor Gazetted Officer or on any civil post or Indian army. Plea was raised that para 576A of the Punjab Jail Manual has since been superseded.
The respondents has appended the instructions dated 25.5.1993 by virtue of which B Class facilities is to be offered only to the following :
"(i) The prisoners who have passed Graduation in any faculty or Honours in Hindi (Prabhakar) or Punjabi (Giani) from a recognised University.
(ii) The prisoners who are or were Municipal Commissioners.
(iii) The prisoners who are junior Commissioned officers irrespective of the fact whether they possess requisite educational qualification or not.
(vi) To the prisoners who are Ex. or sitting members of Parliament or Vidhan Sabha.
The State Government shall have the power to relax the above conditions for better classification in favour of any person having social/political status.
It has also been decided that the prisoners involved in the following offences should not be awarded ''B'' class :
(i) Theft/cheating.
(ii) Robbery/Decoity.
(iii) Kidnapping.
(iv) Abduction.
(v) Adulteration of food/Drugs.
(vi) Offences against the State.
(vii) Rape/Unnatural Offence.
(viii) Prevention of Corruption Act.
The above decision may kindly be brought to the notice of all Superintendents of Jails for their guidance".
Learned counsel for the petitioners contended that the said instructions will not override the provisions of Punjab Jail Manual. The contention of the petitioners'' learned counsel cannot be ignored because para 576A of the Punjab Jail Manual reads :
"RULES FRAMED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNDER SECTION 60 OF THE PRISONS ACT, 1894, TO REGULATE THE CLASSIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF CONVICTED AND UNDERTRIAL PRISIONERS.
SECTION 1. RULES FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF CONVICTED AND UNDER TRIAL PRISONERS.
576A (1) Convicted persons shall be divided into three classes, namely A, B, and C. Class. ''A'' will contain all prisoners who are
(a) Nonhabitual prisoners of good character.
(b) by social status, education and habit of life been accustomed to a superior mode of living, and
(c) have not been convicted of
(i) offences involving elements of cruelty, moral degradation or personal greed ;
(ii) serious or premediatated violence;
(iii) serious offences against property;
(iv) offences relating to the possession of explosives, fire arms and other dangerous weapons with the object of committing an offence or of enabling an offence to be committed ;
(v) abetment or incitement of offences failing within these sub clauses.
(2) Class ''B'' will consist of prisoners who by social status, education or habit of the life have been accustomed to a superior mode of living. Habitual prisioners may be included in this class by order of the InspectorGeneral of Prisons."
It is apparent from perusal of para 576A that it is rules framed by the Local Government under Section 60 of the Prisons Act. The said rules have statutory force. Once the same has statutory force, it cannot be superseded by issuing administrative instructions. This question that the said rules have statutory force was considered by the Supreme Court in the case of Sadhu Singh and others v. State of Punjab, 1984(2) RecentCR 83 . Relying on the same, this Court in the case of Naib Singh v. State of Punjab and another, 1993(2) RecentCR 514 held as under :
"After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, I hold that Para 576A of the Punjab Jail Manual is amongst those paragraphs of the manual against which a black line (side line) is in existence and, therefore, this paragraph has the force of law and the State Government had no jurisdiction to supersede this para by issuing executive instructions."
As one finds in complete agreement with the view expressed and since Para 576A of the Punjab Jail Manual has statutory force, the same remains applicable unless superseded in accordance with law and not by administrative instructions. There is no dispute that has been raised that petitioners were income tax payees. There is no controversy raised that they were accustomed to superior mode of living. Therefore, it must be held that they are entitled to the benefit of para 576A of the Punjab Jail Manual.
For these reasons, it is held that petitioners are entitled to B Class facilities. The respondents are directed to extend B Class facilities to the petitioners for the remaining tenure of their imprisonment.