Overview

• A division bench of Justices Pratibha M Singh and Amit Sharma overturned a July 2023 single-judge order that treated pending Supreme Court appeals as a blanket disqualification for temporary release.
• The court held that Note 2 to Rule 1224 of the Delhi Prison Rules bars furlough only during high court appeals and does not extend that prohibition to the Supreme Court.
• The judgment emphasized that granting parole or furlough is a separate power from bail or sentence suspension and must be exercised on its own legal basis.
• Prison authorities must assess each application on factual merits and eligibility criteria, including humanitarian or exigent circumstances subject to Article 226 judicial review.
• The challenge originated from life-sentence convicts in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre case who had been denied furlough under the earlier interpretation of Rule 1224.