5 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 28, 2026 04:41 PM IST
The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently allowed two convicts to be released on probation, taking into consideration the “agony” and “trauma” they suffered and observing that the case had been pending in high court since 2005 and no “useful” purpose would be served by sending them again to jail to serve the remaining sentence.
Justice Manisha Batra observed that the sole intention of the legislature in passing probation laws was to provide a person a particular type of chance of reformation, which they would not get if they were sent to prison.
Probation means the court has found a person guilty but has chosen to release them into the community under supervision rather than sending them to jail. It basically works as a ‘non-custodial criminal sentence’ and focuses on “rehabilitation” and “social reintegration”.
“The types of persons who are in the contemplation of the legislature under the probation law are those who are not hardened or dangerous criminals, but those who have committed offences under some momentary weakness of character or some tempting situation. By placing the offender on probation, the court saves him from the stigma of jail life and also from the contaminating influence of hardened prison inmates,” the July 24 order read.
Justice Manish Batra said that after suffering for so long, no purpose would be served by sending the convicts back to jail.
On August 23, 2005, a special court in Kapurthala, Punjab, passed an order holding the accused guilty of offences for breaking government orders regarding the production, supply and distribution of essential goods under the Essential Commodities Act and under the Fertiliser Control Order, which restricts the manufacture, sale and distribution of fertilisers, along with prohibiting the sale of non-standard products. According to the order of the special court, the convict was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 5,000.
‘Leading peaceful life’
Advocates Ajay Aggarwal and Denesh Goyal, appearing for the convicts, argued that the appeal had been pending since 2005 and the convicts had been facing the ‘rigors’ of litigation for the last 30 years. The counsel submitted that the convicts had already undergone a substantial portion of their sentence and were now leading a happy and peaceful life with their respective families. Therefore, it was urged to give them the benefit of probation.
Senior Deputy Advocate General, Punjab, Ruchika Sabherwal, representing the state, did not raise any serious objection to the plea of the convicts.
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‘First offender of minor offences’
The high court noted that the aim of the Probation of Offenders Act was that first-time offenders should not be sent to jail for committing less serious offences, because of grave risk to their “attitude to life” as they could be exposed to “hardened” and “habitual criminal” inmates in jail. The court said that if the first offenders stayed in jail, the circumstances might attract them towards a life of crime instead of reforming them.
It was also noted that probation also served another significant purpose. It helped to avoid overcrowding in jails by keeping many offenders away from prison. The court said it had ‘ample’ power to release the first-time minor offenders on probation instead of sending them to jail, by focusing on the nature and manner of the crime, age of the offenders and other circumstances of the offence.
The high court observed that “taking into consideration the agony and trauma, which the appellants have undergone during protracted trial and appeal, nature of offence, totality of other facts & circumstances emanating from the record” as well as the judgments of this court, it was of the opinion that “no useful purpose would be served by sending the appellants again into jail to serve out the remaining period of sentence and instead of sending them to prison, they be released on probation”.
Accordingly, the court directed the convicts to be released on probation subject to the conditions that they would be peaceful and on good behaviour. It was further stated that in case the convicts were found engaged in illegal activities, the jail sentence awarded to them would be revived.
