In Brief
Siya Ram, convicted under Section 302 IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment, challenged the High Court's rejection of his application for release on probation. He argued that the application should be decided under the M.P. Prisoners' Release on Probation Rules as they existed before a 2008 amendment, which required only 5 years of imprisonment. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that applications for release must be assessed under the law in force on the date of decision, not application. The amended proviso requiring 14 years of actual imprisonment aligns with Section 433A of the CrPC and is not retrospective. The Appellant, having served only 7 years, did not qualify.
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