In Brief
Prisoners convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment challenged Rule 8(2)(i) of the Rajasthan Prisons Rules requiring them to earn a minimum of four years' remission after serving 14 years of imprisonment before consideration for early release. The High Court had struck down the rule as invalid because it was not laid before the State Legislature and contradicted Section 433-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Supreme Court held that the requirement to lay rules before the Legislature is directory, not mandatory, and that remission is not a matter of right but State policy. Life imprisonment means imprisonment for life, not a fixed term, and the State may impose reasonable restrictions on remission. The rule was upheld as valid.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.