cwp-631.25 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.631 OF 2025 Shivaji S/o-Kisan Sant, Age-34 years, Occu:Labourer, R/o-Watkali, Tq-Sengaon, District-Hingoli, At present in Central Jail, Harsul, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. ...PETITIONER VERSUS 1) The State of Maharashtra, Through Superintendent of Jail, Central Prison, Harsul, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Taluka and District-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 2) The State of Maharashtra, Through the Home Secretary (Prison), Mantralaya, Mumbai-32, 3) Additional Director General of Prison, Maharashtra State, Pune, 4) The Director Inspector General of Prison, Central Prison, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, District-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar ...RESPONDENTS ... Mr. Rahul Omprakash Awasarmol Advocate for Petitioner. Ms. P.R. Bharaswadkar, A.P.P. for Respondents. ... CORAM: SMT. VIBHA KANKANWADI AND SUSHIL M. GHODESWAR, JJ. DATE : 26th AUGUST 2025 2025:BHC-AUG:23433-DB cwp-631.25 2 ORDER [PER SMT. VIBHA KANKANWADI, J.] : 1. Present Writ Petition has been filed seeking direction to extend the special remission to the petitioner in view of the Government Resolution dated 13th March 2024. 2. Heard learned Advocate Mr. Awasarmol for petitioner and learned APP Ms. Bharaswadkar for respondents. 3. Learned Advocate for the petitioner takes us through the Government Resolution which was published on 13th March 2024, on the occasion of 75th celebration of the Indian independence and by virtue of the chart given in that Resolution and the conviction of the petitioner was seven years to which ten months remission was prescribed, he submits that the State Government has refused to give the benefit to the petitioner and therefore, he was required to approach this Court. 4. Learned APP relies on the affidavit filed by Mr. Sachin Ramesh Salve, Superintendent of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Central Prison, wherein he has stated that though the Government Resolution came into effect on 13th March 2024, the facts would show that the petitioner was arrested in connection with Crime No.23 of 2019, registered with Sengaon Police cwp-631.25 3 Station, Hingoli for the offence punishable under Sections 304-II, 427 of the Indian Penal Code and he was convicted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-2, Hingoli on 23rd September 2024. He has been sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay fine of Rs.55,000/-, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year. It is then submitted on behalf of the State that Paragraph No.3 of the concerned Government Resolution says that:- “3. lnjgw jkT;ekQhpk ykHk gk jkT;ekQh vkns’kkpk fnukad o R;kiqohZ f’k{kk >kysY;k ca|kl ykxw jkghy”. 5. It is submitted on behalf of respondents that, thus the benefit is given to the convicts who were convicted on the date of the Government Resolution i.e. 13th March 2024 and prior to that. When the conviction of the petitioner is subsequent, he is not entitled to the benefit under the said Government Resolution. 6. We agree to the submissions on behalf of the State. Here it is to be noted that the said Government Resolution which was for the special remission, was under the provisions of Section 432(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. That means on the cwp-631.25 4 special occasions the State Government has power to grant remission and then in that case the Government may put restrictions and make the benefit available to a particular class of convicts. When this Government Resolution or the special remission came into effect on 13th March 2024, the petitioner was still under-trial or undergoing trial. He could not have contemplated or nobody could have contemplated on the day of Government Resolution, that he would be convicted. The Government was justified in granting the said special remission to the convicts who were convicted on the date of the Government Resolution or prior to that. A specific stipulation has been made in the Government Resolution. The petitioner will not be justified in interpreting it differently that the benefit is accorded even prospectively. No right accrued to the petitioner to claim remission under this Government Resolution and therefore, we dismiss the Writ Petition. [SUSHIL M. GHODESWAR] [SMT. VIBHA KANKANWADI] JUDGE JUDGE asb/AUG25