Imprisonment does not render a person destitute of liberty and dignity: Karnataka High Court grants parole to man to attend daughter's Nikah

The Karnataka High Court recently granted seven days parole to a man to allow him to attend his daughter's Nikal ceremony. [Abdul Rehman vs State of Karnataka and Anr.].Justice Krishna S Dixit emphasized that a person being put behind bars does not render them destitute of all liberty and dignity. The Court stressed that in matters like these, a humanistic approach needs to be adopted towards a convict in order to keep their societal roots from drying up. ."A convict has to keep in contact with the civil society although sporadically, so that his societal roots, do not dry up when he languishes in the jail; otherwise, when he returns from the prison after completing the term of sentence, he may be a total stranger and life may prove hard to him; this is not a happy thing to happen in a Welfare State," the Court said..The petitioner sought parole for his daughter's wedding on September 3, 2023. He highlighted that Fyzee on ‘Outlines of Muhammadan Law’, Fourth Edition at page 93 suggests that the presence of father in the performance of nikah of his daughter is desirable..The Court noted that it had taken a similar view in Suma vs State of Karnataka. Further, it noted that parole provisions are structured on humanistic grounds for those imprisoned for a long time. It said that the main purpose of parole is to provide the convict an opportunity to solve his personal as well as family problems and to enable him to be in touch with civil society. Moreover, the Court stated that there may be cases of health grounds too..Furthermore, the Court observed that ordinarily, every muslim marriage involves certain rituals that require parents' participation.Even otherwise, when a young daughter is getting married, the presence of her father, is desirable, consistent with the humanitarian considerations which inhere in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the Court observed..Accordingly, the Court allowed the plea and directed release of the petitioner on parole for seven days.The petitioner was represented by advocate Sirajuddin Ahmed.The State was represented by Additional Government Advocate Navyashekhar..[Read Order]