- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 6TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD WRIT PETITION NO. 38088 OF 2025 (GM-POLICE) BETWEEN: MRS. VIJAYA KUMARI W/O. K.SHIVA, AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS, R/AT 48/661, ANNAMMA PALYA ROAD, HOSAPALYA ROAD, GOVERNMENT SCHOOL, BANGALORE SOUTH, BANGALORE- 560 068. (WIFE OF SHIVA K, S/O. KRISHNAN, HAVING CTP NO.11210 NOW IN CUSTODY CENTRAL PRISON, BENGALURU) …PETITIONER (BY SRI. KIRAN S S., ADVOCATE FOR SMT. NATASHA N MURTHY.,ADVOCATE) AND: 1. STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARIAT, DEPARTMENT OF HOME, VIDHANA SOUDHA BANGALORE- 560 001. Digitally signed by VANAMALA N Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 2. THE CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT CENTRAL PRISON, PARAPPANAGHRAHARA, BANGALORE-580 100. 3. THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE ALI ASKER ROAD, VASANTH NAGAR, BENGALURU- 560 001 …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI.C S PRADEEP., AAG A/W SRI. B. RAVINDRANATH., AGA) THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO- DIRECT THE R2/ CENTRAL PRISON BANGALORE TO RELEASE THE PETITIONERS HUSBAND ON GENERAL PAROLE FOR A PERIOD OF 90 DAYS AND PRISONER CTP NO. 11210 CONVICTED BY THE JUDGEMENT AND ORDER DATED 16.04.2019 INSCMO 891/2017 AS PER ANNX-A FOR THE OFFENCES PUNISHABLE U/SEC 143, 147, 148, 120(B) 302 R/W SEC 149 OF IPC.C THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN 'B' GROUP, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD ORAL ORDER The petitioner has filed this petition for General Parole to her husband, Sri Shiva K, who has been in prison for over eight years and two months, and he is previously admitted to General Parole on two occasions. These are borne out by the Imprisonment Certificate dated 04.11.2025. The petitioner's immediate cause for the present petition is the purported failure to even furnish a copy of the application to the petitioner's husband to seek General Parole. 2. This Court, in the light of the afore, has called upon Sri C. S. Pradeep, the learned Additional Advocate General, to secure instructions on an E- portal being developed for the convicts’ relatives to file ‘Online applications" and processing those applications accordingly. This Court has also called upon the learned Additional Advocate General to - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 secure instructions on issuing a Circular for receiving applications over E-mail and processing the same until the E-portal is put in place. Sri. C.S. Pradeep submits that his instructions from the office of the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services are that the effort is on to develop E-portal but that would consume time and that this Court could consider issuing directions for issuance of a Circular that would enable the receipt of an application for General/Emergency Parole over designated emails and processing the same. 3. This Court is persuaded to consider these submissions because the convicts are lodged in different prisons and the request for either General/ Emergency Parole can emanate from their relatives who may be in far-flung places from the jail, and there could be other reasons as well. The object and purpose of admitting a convict to Parole are elaborated in the Karnataka Prisons and Corrections - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 Services Manual 2021 [for short, 'the Manual 2021'], and these include an opportunity to the convicts to maintain continuity in relationship with family members, to develop self-confidence and be constructive in pursuing life post the incarceration. The object and purpose as elaborated in the Manual 2021 also record that admitting a convict to Parole would help him/her to maintain good conduct and discipline in prison. 4. If these are to be achieved, the mechanism that is in place for a convict to avail General/Emergency Parole must also be robust and free of needless shackles. The frequent petitions alleging that the convicts cannot access the application for Parole, which has to be in the prescribed formats, speaks of shackles that defeat the purpose, and it cannot be gainsaid that easy access to the prescribed format and the convenient submissions of an application would mitigate against - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 the shackles and the impediments that could be. The E-portal for Parole will definitely be a better solution, but developing a robust E-portal could take time, and until then there could be an alternative mechanism which would ensure that these shackles and impediments are avoided. 5. The Manual 2021 has detailed procedures on the method and manner in which the application for Emergency/General Parole must be filed and processed. 5.1 For Emergency Parole, the procedure stated in brief is as follows1. A convict who desires to be admitted to Emergency Parole must file his application in the requisite numbers in Form No. XI with the Head of the Prison [the Chief Superintendent or the Superintendent of Prison]. The application must be accompanied by the Certificates to justify the request, and the Head of Prison must get a Report 1 The relevant Paragraph in the Manual, 2021 is 645 - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 from the jurisdictional Commissioner of Police/District Superintendent of Police on the genuineness of the Certificates, and the Officer can get this Report from the jurisdictional Commissioner of Police/Superintendent of Police over email and wireless2. 5.2 For General Parole, the procedure stated in brief is as follows3 A convict who desires to be admitted to General Parole must file his application in the requisite numbers in Form No. IX with the Head of the Prisons [the Chief Superintendent or the Superintendent of Prisons]. The Head of the Prisons must get a Report from the jurisdictional Commissioner of Police/District Superintendent of Police, and if the report is not sent within fifteen days, the Officer must along with his remarks 2 The manual also stipulates that if the report is not received the officer must ascertain the genuineness of certificates over telephone. 3 The relevant Paragraph in the Manual, 2021 is 638[ii] - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 forward the application to the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services for consideration. The Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services must then decide on the application. 6. This Court must, in the light of the afore, observe that the receipt of the application over E-mail would not be outside the Manual 2021, and the decision on such application must also be expedited to realise the object and purpose of the Manual 2021. The Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services must, when the E-portal is being developed and the procedure for the same is being put in place, issue an administrative Circular drawing out a procedure for the following, amongst others in line with the Manual 2021 to streamline the procedure. [i] The submission of applications for Emergency/General Parole in the prescribed Form/s on E-mail. - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 [ii] The relatives of the convicts who can file such applications. [iii] The publication of specific E-mail ID to be handled by the Office of each Chief Superintendent/Superintendent of Prisons. [iii] The reiteration of the timelines within which the Office of the Chief Superintendent/Superintendent of Prisons must process applications and forward the Reports for decision [which will be necessary for General Parole]. [iv] The communication of the decision taken to the applicant over E-mail. In addition, the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services must also include directions for real time information to the District Legal Services Authority of the applications filed and decided because they also help in filing applications and - 10 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 sharing data inter alia for effective management of the Parole system. Hence, the following. ORDER The petition stands disposed of directing [a] The Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services to issue administrative Circulars in the afore terms at the earliest. [b] The Registry to forward a copy of this Order to the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services and the Member Secretary, Karnataka Legal Services Authority. [c] The Member Secretary, Karnataka Legal Services Authority to co- ordinate with the Office of the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services for issuance of the Circular. - 11 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:7016 WP No. 38088 of 2025 [b] The petitioner is reserved with liberty to apply for Parole in the prescribed Format calling upon the Second Respondent to act within the timelines under the Manual 2021. Sd/- (B M SHYAM PRASAD) JUDGE AN/-