Rajasthan High Court – Jodhpur
Pratapram vs State Of Rajasthan … on 12 March, 2026
Author: Farjand Ali
Bench: Farjand Ali
[2026:RJ-JD:12272-DB]
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
D.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 533/2026
Pratapram S/o Shri Sadaram, Aged About 37 Years, At Present
Lodged In Open Air Camp Sirohi, Distt. Sirohi (Raj) Through His
Mother Smt Lasi W/o Shri Sadaram, Aged 73 Years, R/o
Meghwalo Ka Bass, Nana, Police Station Nana, Tehsil Bali,
District Pali (Raj)
----Petitioner
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Secretary, Department
Of Home, Govt Of Rajasthan, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. The District Collector And District Magistrate, Pali (Raj)
3. The Dy Superintendent, District Jail, Sirohi Raj
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Vishal Singh Bhati
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Deepak Choudhary, AAG
assisted by Mr. K.S. Kumawat
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE FARJAND ALI
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP SHAH
Order
12/03/2026
1. The present criminal writ petition has been instituted by the
petitioner-convict Pratapram S/o Shri Sada Ram, resident of
Village Mogrwal, Police Station Nana, Tehsil Bali, District Pali
(Rajasthan).
2. The petitioner was tried in Sessions Case No. 10/2015
(08/2015) and was convicted for the offences punishable under
Sections 302 and 452 of the Indian Penal Code by the learned
Additional District & Sessions Judge, Sumerpur, vide judgment
dated 01.07.2017, whereby he was sentenced to undergo
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imprisonment for life. The petitioner is presently undergoing the
said sentence and is confined in Open Air Camp, Sirohi, District
Sirohi. Aggrieved by the judgment of conviction and the order of
sentence dated 01.07.2017, the petitioner preferred a criminal
appeal before this Court being D.B. Criminal Appeal
No.1073/2017, which is presently pending adjudication and awaits
final consideration.
2.2. It is stated that the petitioner had earlier availed regular
parole for a period of 40 days and thereafter completed more than
eleven months of incarceration subsequent to the said parole
period. In terms of Rule 10 of the Rajasthan Prisoners (Release on
Parole) Rules, 2021, such completion of the intervening period
rendered the petitioner eligible for consideration of regular parole
for 40 days. Thus, the petitioner submitted an application before
the competent authority seeking the said benefit.
2.3. The petitioner’s case was thereafter placed before the
District Parole Advisory Committee, Pali which examined the
matter in accordance with the applicable statutory framework.
Upon consideration, the competent authority, namely the District
Magistrate, Pali, vide order dated 17.01.2026, approved the grant
of parole. However, the said approval was made conditional upon
the petitioner furnishing two sound and solvent surety bonds of
₹25,000/- each along with a personal bond of ₹50,000/-.
2.4. The petitioner submits that despite the sanction of parole, he
has been unable to avail the benefit thereof due to his acute
financial incapacity to furnish the requisite surety bonds. It is
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asserted that the petitioner belongs to a financially indigent
background, and the economic circumstances of his family render
it practically impossible for him to procure solvent sureties in the
amounts stipulated in the order dated 17.01.2026.
2.5. Under these circumstances, the petitioner has approached
this Court by way of the present criminal writ petition under
Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking appropriate
directions for waiver or relaxation of the condition relating to
furnishing surety bonds, and praying that he may be permitted to
avail the benefit of parole upon furnishing a personal bond alone.
3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner has
contended that the petitioner’s entitlement to parole already
stands recognised by the competent authority, and the sole
impediment in the actual execution of the order arises from the
onerous condition requiring production of solvent sureties. It is
urged that the petitioner’s continued incarceration despite the
sanction of parole is solely attributable to his inability to comply
with a condition that is financially burdensome and practically
insurmountable for a person of his modest means.
3. We have heard the learned counsel appearing on behalf of
the petitioner and learned AAG as well as perused the material
available on record.
3.1. Upon consideration of the matter, it becomes evident that
the eligibility and entitlement of the petitioner to parole have
already been duly acknowledged by the competent authority.
Consequently, the scope of adjudication in the present
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proceedings stands confined to the limited question as to whether
the condition requiring furnishing of surety bonds deserves to be
sustained in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.
3.2. It is noteworthy that although the competent authority
sanctioned the petitioner’s parole, the same has remained
unavailed for a considerable duration, solely on account of the
petitioner’s inability to arrange the requisite sureties. Such
prolonged non-availment unmistakably indicates that the
petitioner lacks the financial wherewithal necessary to comply with
the condition imposed.
3.3. It is a well-established principle of criminal jurisprudence
that conditions attached to the grant of bail or parole must be
reasonable, equitable and capable of practical compliance. The
imposition of conditions which are beyond the financial capacity of
the concerned individual effectively nullifies the relief granted and
reduces the order to a mere formality devoid of real substance.
3.4. In the present case, the assertion made by the petitioner
regarding his financial hardship appears credible. The record
reflects that the petitioner belongs to an economically modest
background and that his family members are not in a position to
furnish solvent sureties of the magnitude stipulated in the
impugned order. The Court is therefore satisfied that the
petitioner’s inability to furnish the surety bonds arises not out of
reluctance but from genuine economic constraints.
3.5. Having regard to the totality of the circumstances, and
bearing in mind the reformative philosophy underlying the parole
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system, this Court is of the considered view that the ends of
justice would be adequately served by relaxing the condition
relating to surety bonds. Grant of parole serves an important
rehabilitative purpose by enabling a convict to maintain familial
and social ties, thereby facilitating gradual reintegration into
society.
4. Accordingly, in the peculiar facts of the case, and on
humanitarian as well as reformative considerations, the
requirement imposed by the competent authority in its order
dated 17.01.2026, directing the petitioner to furnish two sureties,
is hereby relaxed.
4.1. It is therefore directed that the petitioner Pratapram S/o
Sadaram shall be released on parole upon furnishing a personal
bond in the sum of ₹50,000/- to the satisfaction of the
Superintendent of the concerned jail, without insisting upon the
production of sureties. All other conditions governing the grant of
parole shall remain unaffected and binding upon the petitioner. It
is further clarified that the period of parole shall commence from
the date of the petitioner’s actual release from custody.
5. In view of the foregoing discussion, the present writ petition
stands allowed. A copy of this order shall be forwarded forthwith
to the concerned jail authorities for immediate compliance in
accordance with law.
(SANDEEP SHAH),J (FARJAND ALI),J
30-Mamta/-
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