Orissa High Court
Pramod Gouda vs State Of Odisha & Ors on 28 July, 2026
Author: B.P. Routray
Bench: B.P. Routray
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
Signed by: SANGRAM DAS
Reason: Authentication
Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
W.P.(C) No. 34432 of 2025
(An application under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India)
Pramod Gouda ....... Petitioner
-Versus-
State of Odisha & Ors. ....... Opposite Parties
Advocate(s) appeared in this case:-
For Petitioner : Mr. S.Panigrahi , Advocate
For Opposite Parties : Mr. G.Tripathy, AGA
CORAM : JUSTICE B.P. ROUTRAY
JUDGMENT
28th July 2026
B.P. Routray,J.
1. Heard Mr. S.Paigrahi, learned counsel for the Petitioner
and Mr. G.Tripathy, learned AGA for State-Opposite Parties-Bank.
2. The Petitioner who is detained in the prison at Biju
Pattnaik Open Air Ashram, Jamujhari in the district of Khurdha is
incarcerating for commission of offences under Section 302/ 149/
148 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of the Explosive
Substances Act. The Petitioner has been sentenced to undergo life
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
imprisonment along with other imprisonment for different term, to
run concurrently, by learned District and Sessions Judge, Ganjam-
Gajapati in Sessions Case No.15 of 1997, judgment dated 6th
December 1997. The conviction and sentence of the Petitioner has
been confirmed by this Court in CRA No.10 and 12 of 1998 as well
as the same has been confirmed by the Hon’ble Apex Court in
S.L.P. (Crl) No.1250 of 2020 as per the submission of learned
counsel for the Petitioner.
3. The Petitioner is continuing in custody since 6th
December 1997 upon his conviction and prior to that he was
detained in custody for a period of one year and five months as
under trial prisoner. His case was taken up by the State Sentence
Review Board (SSRB) in its 47th meeting held on 19th September
2025. The SSRB considered the case of the Petitioner and rejected
it mainly on the ground that the crime committed was an organized
crime and the Petitioner is 47 years old man who has not lost his
potential to commit further crime. For better appreciation the
observation of the SSRB is reproduced below:-
“He along with 04 others committed murder of a person
by dealt with swords, lathis and bombs blows on his
person. It was an organised crime. He is 47 years old.
W.P.(C) No. 34432 of 2025 Page 2 of 17
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Reason: Authentication
Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13The Board is of the view that he has not lost his
potentiality to commit further crime. The offence
committed by the convict has serious ramification on the
society at large.”
4. According to the Petitioner his conduct inside jail is
found satisfactory as per the report of Jail Superintendent and he
does not have any adverse observation against his conduct while
continuing in custody. Further, he was released on Parole and
Furlough on different occasions and during such period also his
conduct was found satisfactory without drawing any adverse
remark. As per the report of the Superintendent of Police at
Annexure-4, he recommended the case of the Petitioner for
premature release with observation that the Petitioner led an honest
life during his Parole and Furlough leave and no law and order
situation arose during said period concerning the Petitioner. It is
thus submitted that when all the reports, particularly the local
police, are favouring the release of Petitioner, the SSRB did not
consider it prospectively for premature release of the Petitioner. It
is further submitted that the alleged crime against the Petitioner for
such offence stated above is relating to murder of one K.Gopi
Krishna Reddy of village-Kukudakhandi.
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Reason: Authentication
Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
5. Mr. Tripathy, learned AGA while opposing the prayer of
the Petitioner submits that the SSRB within its discretion has
considered the case of the Petitioner for his premature release and
rejected the same taking note of the circumstances of heinousness
of the crime as well as other attending materials regarding
potentiality of the Petitioner to commit the crime in future. He
submits that the murder has been committed by the Petitioner along
with others by using deadly weapons as well as by hurling bombs
creating havoc in the locality and thus, keeping in view the age of
the Petitioner vis-Ã -vis his instinct to commit crime, particularly in
the same locality, the potentiality to commit further crime cannot
be ruled out. Therefore, SSRB has rightly rejected the prayer of
premature release of the Petitioner on due consideration of the
materials available against him. He further submits that the report
of the local authority with regard to the conduct of the Petitioner
either inside the jail or during the leave period is though relevant
for consideration, but cannot be the sole determining factor to
release the Petitioner prematurely.
6. On the backdrop of rival submissions made at the bar, it
is relevant to see the guidelines prescribed for premature release of
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Reason: Authentication
Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
the Petitioner. As per the resolution of Government of Odisha in
Law Department dated 19th April 2022 published in Odisha
Gazette, an uniform standard and criteria for determining the
eligibility of prisoners undergoing life sentence has been prepared
for premature release of such detainees in consonance with the
guidelines issued by the National Human Rights Commission from
time to time. The said guidelines for premature release, 2022
prescribe the eligibility criteria for consideration for premature
release at Clause-5 and the same reads as follows:-
5. Eligibility for Premature Release- Save as provided in these
guidelines, every convicted prisoner whether male or female
undergoing sentence of life imprisonment and covered by the
provisions of Section 433 A of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973 (hereinafter referred to as Cr.P.C.) shall be eligible to be
considered for premature release from the prison immediately
after serving out the sentence of fourteen years of actual
imprisonment i.e. without the remissions.
Explanation- For the purpose of this clause, it is clarified that
upon completion of fourteen years in prison by itself will not
entitle a convict to be released automatically from the prison
and the Board shall have the discretion to release a convict at
an appropriate time and cases considering the circumstances in
which the crime was committed and the other factors, namely:-
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
(a)Whether the convict has lost his potential for
committing crime considering his overall conduct
in jail during the fourteen years incarceration;
(b) The possibility of reclaiming the convict as a
useful member of the society; and
(c) Socio-economic condition of the convict’s
family.
7. Further, the categorization of prisoners have been
delineated at Clause-6, which reads as follows:-
6. Categorization of Prisoners for premature release. (1) Having
regard to the provisions contained under section 433 A of Cr.P.C.,
the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) opined that a
reasonable classification may be made within the category of
convicts on the basis of magnitude brutality and gravity of the
offence for which the convict was sentenced to life imprisonment
and accordingly certain categories of life convict prisoners other
than those mentioned in clauses (a) to (e) below may be eligible for
premature release after the completion of twenty (20) years of
imprisonment including remission:
(a) Convicts who have been imprisoned for life for
murder in heinous cases such as murder with rape
cases, coming under the categories undergoing
Imprisonment for life being convicted under
sections 376 A, 376 AB, 376 DA and 376 DB of
the Indian Penal Code 1760 (hereinafter referred to
as IPC), dacoity with murder, murder involving an
offence under the Protection of Civil Rights Act,
1955, murder of a child below 14 years of age,W.P.(C) No. 34432 of 2025 Page 6 of 17
Signature Not Verified
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Signed by: SANGRAM DAS
Reason: Authentication
Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment being
convicted with the offence of aggravated
penetrative sexual assault on a child under section
6(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as
POCSO, Act), multiple murder, murder committed
after conviction while inside the Jail, murder
during parole, murder in a terrorist incident,
murder in smuggling operation, murder of a public
servant on duty;
b) Gangsters, contract killers, smugglers, drug
traffickers, prisoners those sentenced to life
imprisonment being convicted under section 31A
of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances
Act, 1985, racketeers awarded with life
imprisonment for committing murders as also the
perpetrators of murder committed with
premeditation and with exceptional violence or
perversity;
(C) Convicts whose death sentence has been
commuted to life imprisonment;
(d) Convicts undergoing life imprisonment under
section 121 of IPC; and
(e) Such convicts of like categories as the Board
may decide
Provided that the categories of life convicts
mentioned in clauses (a) to (c) may be placed for
consideration for premature release after
completion of twenty five (25) years of
incarceration.
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
(2) Female convict sentenced to imprisonment for life including
those governed by section 433 A of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 aged more than sixty (60) years and have
undergone an actual imprisonment of five (5) years including
remand period and total imprisonment of six (6) years including
remission as on date shall be released except the following,
namely:-
(a) Prisoners convicted and sentenced by courts
situated outside the State of Odisha;
(b) Prisoners convicted of offences against laws
relating to a matter to which the executive powers
of the Union extends;
(c) Prisoners involved in and convicted for
offences relating to communal incidents;
(d) Life convicts who are punished for any prison
offence during the last three preceding years and/or
those who are punished for any serious prison
offence like revolt/ organising revolt against the
prison administration anytime during their entire
period of stay in the prison;
(e) Prisoners who are released on parole/furlough
and who committed or attempt to commit any of
the offences punishable under any law for the time
being in force;
(f) Life convicts who have escaped from custody
during the preceding three years and have not
surrendered voluntarily;
(g) Prisoners convicted under the Essential
Commodities Act, 1955;
(h) Prisoners convicted under Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the PreventionW.P.(C) No. 34432 of 2025 Page 8 of 17
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13of Terrorism Act, 2001 and special Acts enacted
for Prevention of Terrorism and Mafia and other
organized crimes who had been sentenced to
imprisonment for life;
(i) Life convicts who have committed
offence/offences against children;
(j) Life convicts who are convicted for Kidnapping
and related offences U/s 363A, 364, 364 A, 366,
356 A, 366 B, 367,368, 369, 372 and Section 373
of the Indian Penal Code 1860,
(k) Life convicts convicted under sections 304 B,
306, 498 A of IPC and offences under the Dowry
Prohibition Act, 1961;
(l) Prisoners involved and convicted for life in two
or more afferent murder cases;
(m) Professional killers who have been guilty of
murder being hired;
(n) Prisoners convicted under waging or attempting
to wage war, or abetting the waging of war against
the Government of India;
(o) Prisoners convicted of murder of Public
Servants while performing official duty,
(p) Prisoners sentenced to death sentence, which is
later commuted to life sentence;
(q) Prisoners convicted for life under sections 379
to 402 IPC;
(r) Prisoners who are convicted for life
imprisonment in any case with two counts or more,
(s) Life convicts who have overstayed on
parole/furlough for more than three days in the last
preceding three years shall not be released unless
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
they compete ten (10) years of actual sentence with
remand period and twelve (12) years with of
remission as on date.
(3) Male convict sentenced to imprisonment for life including those
governed by section 433 A of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973 aged more than sixty five (65) years and have undergone an
actual imprisonment of five (5) years including remand period and
total imprisonment of seven (7) years including remission as on
date shall be released except the following, namely:-
(a)Prisoners convicted and sentenced by courts
situated outside the State of Odisha;
(b) Prisoners convicted of offences against laws
relating to a matter to which the executive powers
of the Union extends;
(c) Prisoners involved in and convicted for
offences relating to communal incidents;
(d) Life convicts who are punished for any prison
offence during the last three (3) preceding years
and/or those who are punished for any serious
prison offence like revolt/ organising revolt against
the prison administration anytime during their
entire period of stay in the prison;
(e) Prisoners who are released on parole/furlough
and who committed or attempt to commit any of
the offences punishable under any law for the time
being in force
(f) Life convicts who have escaped from custody
during the preceding three (3) years and have not
surrendered voluntarily;
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
(g) Prisoners convicted under the Essential
Commodities Act, 1955;
(h) Prisoners convicted under Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the Prevention
of Terrorism Act, 2001 and special Acts enacted
for Prevention of Terrorism and Mafia and other
organized crimes who had been sentenced to
imprisonment for life;
(i) Life convicts who have committed
offence/offences against children;
(j) Life convicts who are convicted for kidnapping
and related offences Us 363A, 364, 364A, 366,
366A, 366B, 367,368, 369, 372 and Section 373 of
the Indian Penal Code. 1860;
(k) Life convicts convicted in crimes against
women under sections 376, 304 B, 306, 498 A of
IPC and offences under the Dowry Prohibition Act,
1961;
(l) Prisoners involved and convicted for life in two
or more different murder cases;
(m) Professional killers who have been guilty of
murder being hired;
(n) Prisoners convicted under waging or attempting
to wage war, or abetting the waging of war against
the Government of India;
(o) Prisoners convicted of murder of Public
Servants while performing official duty;
(p) Prisoners sentenced to death sentence, which is
later commuted to life sentence;
(q) Prisoners convicted for life under sections 379
to 402 IPC;
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
(r) Prisoners who are convicted for life
imprisonment in any case with two counts or more;
(s) Life convicts who have overstayed on
parole/furlough for more than three days in the last
preceding three years shall not be released unless
they compete ten (10) years of actual sentence with
remand period and twelve (12) years with of
remission as on date.
(4) All other convicted male prisoners not convicted by section
433 A of the Cr.P.C. undergoing the sentence of life imprisonment
shall be eligible to be considered for premature release after they
have served at least fourteen (14) years of imprisonment inclusive
of remission but only after completion of ten (10) years of actual
imprisonment i.e. without remissions;
Provided that in the case of following categories of cases, the
convicts who have served at least twelve (12) years of
imprisonment may be considered for premature release namely:
(a) Penetrative sexual assault under section 4(1) of
the POCSO Act, 2012,
(b) Penetrative sexual assault on a child below
sixteen years of age;
(c) Cases of Gang rape on a woman below sixteen
years of age punishable under section 376 DA of
the IPC;
(d) Cases of Gang rape on a woman by one or
more persons constituting a group or acting in
furtherance of a common intention;
(e) Cases of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by
use of acid or acid attack;
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
(f) Cases of counterfeiting currency-notes or bank-
notes where punishment can extend to
imprisonment for life under section 489 A of the
IPC;
(g) Using as genuine, forged or counterfeiting
currency -notes or bank-notes where punishment
can extend to imprisonment for life under section
489 B of the IPC;
(h) Making or possessing instruments or materials
for forging or counterfeiting currency-notes or
bank-notes where punishment can extend to
imprisonment for life under section -489-D of the
IPC; and
(i)Cases of Offence against the State under
Chapter VI of the IPC such as under section 121 A,
section 122, section 124 A (Sedition), section 125,
section 128 and section 130 of the IPC wherein the
punishment prescribed can extend to imprisonment
for life amongst other shorter terms.
(5) The female prisoners not covered by section 433 A of the
Cr.P.C undergoing the sentence of imprisonment would be entitled
to be considered for premature release after they have served at
least ten (10) years of imprisonment inclusive of remissions but
only after completion of seven (7) years actual imprisonment
without remissions.
(6) Cases of premature release of prisoner undergoing life
imprisonment before completion of fourteen (14) years of actual
imprisonment on the ground of terminal illness etc. can be dealt
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
with under the provisions of Article 161 of the Constitution of
India.
8. In the case at hand, as seen from the reasons stated by the
State Sentence Review Board to reject the case of the Petitioner for
premature release is mainly on the ground that the Petitioner still
has the potential to commit the crime. The impugned order of
rejection at Annexure-1 does not reveal any materials to show that
the Petitioner has the potential to commit further crime in present
days nor did the counter filed by the State gives any light on
availability of such materials against the Petitioner. The phrase
“potentiality to commit further crime” depends on the facts of the
case to opine as such either in favour of the accused or against him.
It is undisputed that the Petitioner by now is more than 47 years
and he is inside custody since 6th December 1997, i.e. more than 28
years as on date and more than 27 years six months on the date of
consideration by the SSRB on 19th September 2025.
9. The heinousness of the crime as stated at Clause-6 of the
guidelines dated 19th April 2022 is not attracted in the present facts
of the case and the limitations prescribed thereof for different
crimes like murder with rape, dacoit with murder etc. does not
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
emerge as a ground to reject the case of the Petitioner for
premature release.
10. The facts of the case undisputedly speaks that, it is a
murder of a single person though by use of deadly weapons and
explosive substances within the public view. But it is a matter of
long past in 1996 and the Petitioner has already incarcerated for
more than 28 years by now. The reports of the local authority do
not speak any adverse against the conduct of the Petitioner during
his release either on Parole and Furlough leave.
11. The behavior and conduct of the Petitioner inside the jail
as a prisoner is also found satisfactory as per the submission of the
Petitioner and nothing adverse in that respect is stated in the
counter of the State Government. The sole ground taken by the
SSRB to reject the case of the Petitioner is that he still has not lost
the potentiality to commit further crime. But the basis for arriving
at such conclusion by the SSRB does not appear to be founded on
any fresh material against the Petitioner but seems to be an opinion
arrived looking at the scene of the crime committed by this
Petitioner in 1996. Section 433 & 433A of the Cr.P.C. (Section 474
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
& 475 of the BNSS) authorizes the appropriate Government for
commutation of the sentence of a life convict incarcerated for
more than 14 years and the guidelines dated 19 th April 2022
prescribe thereof the standards to be considered to exercise the
discretion. Explanation (a) to clause 5 of said guidelines speaks that
the potentiality to commit crime would be considered depending on
overall conduct of the prisoner in jail during the fourteen years
incarceration and here the reports of the local authorities including
superintendent of police are favoring the petitioner without any
adverse observation on his conduct either inside the jail or during
his leave on parole or furlough. So without any adverse observation
on the conduct of the petitioner (prisoner) during last 28 years, i.e.
from the date of his conviction on 6th December 1997, no justified
ground is made out against the petitioner to opine that he is having
the potentiality to commit further crime. In the circumstances of the
given case as discussed above and looking at the reasons stated
against the Petitioner in the impugned order the same is not found
corroborated by material particulars on record and accordingly, this
Court is inclined to direct the SSRB to reconsider its decision in
respect of the Petitioner.
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Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack
Date: 30-Jul-2026 10:48:13
12. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of with a
direction to Opposite Party No.1 to reconsider the case of the
Petitioner afresh for his premature release in the next sitting of
State Sentence Review Board, particularly keeping in view the long
period of incarceration of the Petitioner and the report of the jail
authority as well as local authority with regard to his conduct and
behavior during the period of incarceration and during his interim
release, along with other relevant attending circumstances.
(B.P. Routray)
Judge
S.Das,Sr.Steno
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