Holding

Life imprisonment is an indefinite rigorous imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life and cannot be treated as a fixed term of fourteen or twenty years; release is permissible only upon remission or commutation by the appropriate government.

Summary

The petitioner Md. Munna, convicted of murder and sentenced to imprisonment for life, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that having served more than 21 years he should be released, contending that life imprisonment is equivalent to a term of 20 years under the West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992 and Rule 751(c) of the West Bengal Jail Code, and that the Prisoners Act, 1900 precludes his detention in jail. The Court examined the nature of the punishment of life imprisonment under Section 53 of the IPC, the effect of its substitution for transportation, and the legal effect of Section 53A, holding that life imprisonment is a rigorous imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life and cannot be treated as a fixed term without a formal remission order. It further held that the Prisoners Act, 1900 is merely procedural and does not make detention of life convicts illegal, and that the West Bengal statutes do not confer any right to release after twenty years. Accordingly, the petition was dismissed, with the Court emphasizing that release is possible only upon remission or commutation by the appropriate government. The order granting bail to the petitioner was vacated, and the connected writ petition was also dismissed.

Issues considered

Whether imprisonment for life is equivalent to a term of fourteen or twenty years for the purpose of release under the West Bengal Correctional Services Act and West Bengal Jail Code.
Whether the West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992 (Sec 61) and Rule 751(c) of the West Bengal Jail Code can compel release after twenty years absent a remission order.
Whether Section 32 of the Prisoners Act, 1900 precludes detention of persons sentenced to life imprisonment in jails.
Whether life imprisonment is a rigorous or simple imprisonment and whether it requires commutation under Section 55 of the IPC.
Whether the appropriate government must pass a remission order before a life‑convict can be released.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 383, s. 386, s. 401, s. 418
Constitution of Indias. Article 32
Criminal Procedure Code, 1898s. 383, s. 386
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 53, s. 53A, s. 55, s. 57, s. 60
Prisoners Act, 1900s. 32
West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992s. 61
West Bengal Jail Codes. 751(c)

Subjects

life imprisonmenthabeas corpusremissionprisoners actWest Bengal Correctional Services Actrigorous imprisonmentsection 53 IPCsection 55 IPCsection 57 IPCsection 401 CrPCrule 751(c)prison lawconstitutional lawArticle 32sentence commutation

Judgment

MD. MUNNA A
v.
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2005

[K.G. BALAKRISHNAN AND B.N. SRIKRISHNA, JJ.] B

Constitution of India-Article 32-Writ of Habeas Corpus-Criminal
Procedure Code 1973-West Bengal Correctional Service Act, 1992-Sec. 61
Expln.-West Bengal Jail Code-Rule 751 (c)-IPC-Sec. 55-Life C
Imprisonment-Meaning of-Length of-Power of prison authorities to
commute sentence and release of convict-Held, there is no provision in Indian
Penal Code or Cr.PC whereby life imprisonment could be treated as fourteen
years or twenty years without a formal remission by appropriate Government.

Prisoners Act, 1900-Classification of convicts-Cr.P.C.-Sec. 53(4)- D
/PC-Sec. 53A-Meaning of life imprisonment-Held, period of life
imprisonment is to be considered as rigorous imprisonment.

Prisoners Act, 1900-Sec. 32-Detention of convicts in jail-Validity-
Held, punishment of transportation having been deleted, there is no relevance
ofappointed places under the Act-Further held, the non-amending ofprovision E
of the Act of 1900, along with introduction of Act 6 of 1995 does not make
detention in jails illegal.

Petitioner filed a Writ Petition claiming that he has already
undergone more than 21 years imprisonment at the time of filing of the
writ petition and his further detention is illegal and that he is liable to be F
set at liberty forthwith and sought for payment of compensation for his
alleged illegal detention beyond the period of fourteen years. Petitioner
contended that the length of the duration of the imprisonment for life is
equivalent to 20 years imprisonment and that too subject to further
remission admissible under law, that on completion of this term he was G
liable to be released under rule 75l(c) of the West Bengal Jail Code, that
under Explanation to Section 61 of the West Bengal Correctional Services
Act, 1992 (West Bengal Act XXXII of 1992) the imprisonment for life is
equated to a term of 20 years imprisonment, that the petitioner was
sentenced to 'imprisonment for life', a punishment introduced by the Code
233 II
234 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 26 of 1955 as one form of
punishment distinct from the punishment of rigorous or simple
imprisonment shown in clause (4) of Section 53 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, that the imprisonment for life shall not be treated as rigorous
imprisonment and it would only be a simple imprisonment till a proper
B commutation order is passed under Section 55 of IPC, that imprisonment
for life has not been made legally executable in jail either under the
Criminal Procedure Code 1898 or 1973 or any other law and the officer
in charge of jail can be the person at the place envisaged under Section
32 of the Prisoner's Act (Act 3of1900) just for the intermediate custody
and that he is bound to deliver the person over to the appropriate auth·ority
C and custody for the purpose of removal to the places for carrying out or
executing the sentence and that in any case the petitioner is liable to be
released from detention on completion of twenty years imprisonment.

Dismissing the Writ Petition, the Court

D HELD: I. The imprisonment of the life convicts are being carried
out on the strength of the order passed by the court. The provisions
contained in the Prisoners Act are only procedural in nature. The
Preamble of the Act itself states that the Act is meant to consolidate the
law relating to prisoners confined by order of a court and Section 32 of
the Prisoners Act 1900 specifically says about the persons under sentence
E of transportation and when the punishment of transportation itself was
deleted, the provisions of Section 32 regarding the temporary custody of
the prisoners, there is no relevance for the appointed places within the
State or outside the State for a person under sentence of transportation.
The prison authorities are bound to keep the persons who are sentenced
p to imprisonment for life in jails. Of course, some of the provisions in the
Prisoners Act, 1900 were not suitably amended so as to be in conformity
with the sentence of life imprisonment introduced by Act No. 26of1955.
That does not make the detention illegal. (239-E-Hl

Naib Singh v. State of Punjab and Ors., (1983) 2 SWCC 454, referred
G to.
2. The sentence of imprisonment for life was substituted for
"transportation". There are ample materials to show that a person who
was sentenced to transportation had always been subjected to hard labour.
Transportation to overseas penal settlements implied hard labour for the
H concerned convicts and the punishment of deportation beyond seas was
MD. MUNNA v. U.0.1. 235
considered to be the most dreaded punishment and there were series of A
rules and regulatio11s governing management and control of penal
settlements in the Port Blair and Nicobar Islands. The Andaman &
Nicobar Jail Manual, a Govt. of India publication'of 1908 contains several
rules and regulations and chapter 2 thereof deals with classification of
convicts and clause (3) of Section 17 specifically says that transportation
entails hard labour and ·strict disciplin"e with only such food as is necessary B
for health and mitigation of the above is an indulgence which at any time
could be withdrawn in whole or in part. It is difficult to understand how
such a punishment could be deemed to have been substituted by simple
imprisonment for life. Moreover Section 53A of the IPC makes the position
clear. Therefore, it is clear that if a person is sentenced to transportation C
for a term, the same is converted to rigorous imprisonment for the same
duration. Naturally, transportation for life will only be treated as rigorous
imprisonment for life. (241-C-F, H; 242-AI

3. If a portion of the period of transportation for life is to be treated
as sentence of rigorous imprisonment for the same term, naturally, the D
entire transportation period is to be treated as 'rigorous imprisonment
for life'. Imprisonment for life is a class of punishment different from
ordinary imprisonment which could be of two descriptions, namely,
"rigorous" or "simple". It was unnecessary for the Legislature to
specifically mention that the imprisonment for life would be rigorous E
imprisonment for life as it is imposed as punishment for grave offences.
(242-A-B-C)

K.M Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra, AIR (1962) SC 605, referred
to.

4. There is no provision either in the Indian Penal Code or in the F
Code of Criminal Procedure whereby life imprisonment could be treated
as fourteen years or twenty years withou't there being a formal remission
by the appropriate government. The Prisons' rules are made under the
Prisons Act and the Prisons Act by itself does not confer any authority or
power to commute or remit sentence. It only provides for the regulation G
of the prisons and for the terms of the prisoners confined therein.
Therefore, the West Bengal Correctional Services Act or the West Bengal

.J Jail Code do not confer any special right on the petitioner herein. This
Court is bound by the dicta laid down by the Constitution Bench and it is
held that life imprisonment is not equivalent to imprisonment for fourteen
years or for twenty years as contended by the Petitioner. The petitioner H
236 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A is not entitled to be released on any of the grounds urged in the writ
petition so long as there is no order or remission passed by the appropriate
government in his favour. [243-B-C; F-G; 244-H; 245-A-BI

Kishori Lal v. Emperor, AIR 32 (1945) PC 64 and Gopal v. State of
Maharashtra, (1961) 3 SCR 440, followed.
B
[It is made clear that the decision need not be taken as expression
of the Court's view that petitioner is not entitled to any remission at all.
The appropriate government would be at liberty to pass any appropriate
order of remission in accordance with law.I

C CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petition (CRL.) No.
45 of 1998.

(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.)

WITH
D
W.P. (Crl.) No. 50 of 2003.

B.S. Malik, A. Dashmukh, R.P. Dhaka, C.S. Ashri, Mrs. Santosh Singh,
S. Deswal and A. Deshmukh with him for the Petitioner.

E P.P. Malhotra, Mrs. Radha Rangaswamy, Ms. Binu Tamta, Vineet
Malhotra, P. Parmeshwaran, Avijit Bhattacharjee, Mrs. Anjani Aiyagari, Mrs.
Sushma Suri, Tara Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Kr. Singh with him for the
Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
F
K.G. BALAKRISHNAN, J. The petitioner in this writ petition under
Article 32 of the Constitution had been found guilty of the offence of murder
under Section 302 read with Section 34 lPC by the Sessions Court and had
been undergoing sentence of imprisonment for life. His conviction and sentence
was affirmed by the High Court and later confirmed by this Court. The
G petitioner alleges that he has already undergone more than 21 years
imprisonment at the time of filing of the writ petition and contended that his
further detention is illegal and that he is liable to be set at liberty forthwith,
for which he seeks a writ of habeas corpus and prays for payment of
compensation for his alleged illegal detention beyond the period of fourteen
H years.
MD. MUNNA v. U.0.1. [BALAKRISHNAN, J.] 237
According to the petitioner, the length of the duration of the A
imprisonment for life is equivalent to 20 years imprisonment and that too
subject to further remission admissible under law. He contends that on
completion of this term he was liable to be released under rule 751(c) of the
West Bengal Jail Code. He relies on the Explanation to Section 61 of the
West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992 (West Bengal Act XXXII of
1992) whereunder the imprisonment for life is equated to a term of 20 years B
imprisonment.

Another contention raised by the petitioner is that the petitioner was
sentenced to "imprisonment for life'', a punishment introduced by the Code
of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 26 of 1955 as one form of C
punishment distinct from the punishment of rigorous or simple imprisonment
shown in clause (4) of Section 53 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
According to the petitioner, the Executive authorities have converted it into
"rigorous imprisonment for life" and this according to the petitioner was not
warranted by the provisions of the law and the same can be done only by
commutation of the punishment under Section 55 of the Indian Penal Code D
to rigorous imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years. In other words,
the argument of the petitioner is that imprisonment for life shall not be
treated as rigorous imprisonment and it would only be a simple imprisonment
till a proper commutation order is passed under Section 55 of the IPC.

The petitioner has also raised another contention that imprisonment for E
life has not been made legally executable in jail either under the Criminal
Procedure Code 1898 or 1973 or any other law and the officer in charge of
jail can be the person at the place envisaged under Section 32 of the Prisoners
Act (Act 3 of 1900) just for the intermediate custody and that he is bound
to deliver the person over to the appropriate authority and custody for the F
purpose of removal to the places for carrying out or executing the sentence
and in this behalfreliance was placed on the Forms of Warrant of Commitment
prescribed under Section 383 and 386 of the Cr.P.C. 1898.

Lastly the petitioner contended that in any case the petitioner is liable
to be released from detention on completion of twenty years imprisonment. G
In order to deal with the contentions advanced by the petitioner, it is
necessary to look into the provisions of Section 53 of the Indian Penal Code.
Clause 'secondly' of Section 53 relating to "transportation" was deleted and
in its place "imprisonment for life" was introduced by Act 26 of 1955 with
H
238 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A effect from 1.1.1956. The amended Section 53 reads as follows :
"53. Punishment.-The punishments to which offenders are liable
under the provisions of this Code are

First - Death;
B Secondly.- Imprisonment for life ..

Fourthly-Imprisonment, which is of two descriptions, namely

(i) Rigorous, that is, with hard labour;

C (ii) Simple;

Fifthly-Forfeiture of property;

Sixthly-Fine."

Section 53 provides for distinct categories of punishments to which
D offenders are liable to be punished for the offences enumerated in the !PC.
The punishment of "transportation" was deleted and was substituted by
"imprisonment for life". Prior to the commencement of Act 26 of 1955, all
prisoners sentenced to "transportation" for a fixed term or for life were not
invariably deported to the overseas penal settlements in the island of Andaman.
E The prisoners were divided into two categories and those who were found
eligible for deportation were alone sent to the penal settlements. The other
prisoners were confined in one of the jails within the country under Section
32 of the Prisoners Act, 1900. Section 32 of the Prisoners Act, 1900 specifically
deals with persons under sentence of "transportation", Section 32 reads as
follows :
F
"32. Appointment ofplaces for confinement ofpersons under sentence
of transportation and removal thereto:-
( I) the State Government may appoint places within the State to
which persons under sentence of transportation shall be sent, and
the State Government or some officer duly authorized in this
G
behalf by the State Government shall give orders for the removal
of such persons to the places so appointed, except when sentence
of transportation is passed on a person already undergoing
transportation under a sentence previously passed for another

H
offence.

(2) In any case in which the State Government is competent under -
MD. MUNNA v. U.0.1. [BALAKRISHNAN, J.] 239
sub-section (I) to appoint places within the State and to order A
removal thereto of persons under sentence of transportation, the
State Government may appoint such places in any other State by
agreement with the State Government of that State and may by
like agreement give orders or duly authorized some officers to
give order for the removal thereto of such persons."
B
Under sub clause (2) of Section 32, the State Govt. is empowered to
appoint places within the State and in other States with their consent where
prisoners punished for transportation could be lodged for undergoing their
sentences. These convicted persons were kept in detention for the purpose of
carrying out the execution of their sentences. The contention of the petitioner C
is that it is only 'place' or 'places' within or outside the State in India for
temporary custody of the person sentenced to transportation and it shall not
be jails and under Section 32 of the Prisoners Act they cannot be kept in jail.
The further argument of the petitioner's counsel is that when the transportation
was replaced by the sentence of imprisonment for life, the same provision
would apply and there cannot be detention of the convicted persons in jails D
pursuant to the sentence of imprisonment imposed on him. The counsel for
the petitioner would further argue that sentence of imprisonment for life is
impossible to be carried out in view of the provisions of Section 32 of the
Prisoners Act 1900 and therefore the conviction is illegal.

The above contention of the petitioner's counsel is only to be rejected. E
The imprisonment of the life convicts are being carried out on the strength
of the order passed by the court. The provisions contained in the Prisoners
Act are only procedural in nature. The preamble to the Act itself states the
Act is meant to consolidate the law relating to prisoners confined by order
of a court and Section 32 of the Prisoners Act 1900 specifically says about F
the persons under sentence of transportation and when the punishment of
transportation itself was deleted, the provisions of Section 32 regarding the
temporary custody of the prisoners, there is no relevance for the appointed
places within the State or outside the State for a person under sentence of
transportation. The prison authorities are bound to keep the persons who are
sentenced to imprison.men! for life in jails. Of course, some of the provisions G
in the Prisoners Act, 1900 were not suitably amended so as to be in conformity
with the sentence of life imprisonment introduced by Act No. 26 of 1955.
That does not make the detention illegal. A similar plea was raised in Naib
Singh v. State of Punjab and Ors., [1983] 2 SCC 454 and this Court held:

"9 ............ In other words, the contention was that under the power H
240 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A for confinement of transportation prisoners the State Government
cannot appoint jails as the 'places' for their confinement. We fail to
appreciate as to why such a qualification or limitation on the power
of the State Government under Section 32 should be read into with
section. Having regard to the unqualified and clear language of the
section there is no reason why the State Governments cannot appoint
B jails as the "places" for confinement of transportation prisoners.
Counsel relied upon two decisions of Lahore High Court in Kunda/
Lal v. Emperor and in the matter of Khairati Ram to support his
contention but in our view neither of these decisions lays down
anything as suggested by counsel... ... "
c "10. Apart from Section 32 of the Prisoners Act, Section 383 of
Cr.P.C., 1898 and Section 418 of Cr.P.C. 1973 also contain the
necessary legal authority and power under which a criminal court can
by issuing a warrant direct the execution or carrying out of a sentence
of life imprisonment in local jails. Both the sections appear in a
D chapter dealing with 'Execution of Sentences' under the respective
Codes and are identically worded and each one provides that "where
the accused is sentenced to imprisonment for life the Court passing
· the sentence shall forthwith forward the warrant to the Jail or other
place in which he is, or is to be, confined, and, unless the accused is·
already confined in such jail or other place, shall forward him to such
E jail or other.place with the warrant." It is obvious that the 'confinement'
of the convict in the jail pursuant to the court's warrant issued under
the sections is for the purpose of executing or carrying out of the
sentence. The proviso to sub-section (l) of Section 418 and sub-
section (2) of Section 418 make the position abundantly clear that the
F expression 'confinement' has been used in the sense of execution or
carrying out of the sentence. Some argument based on the concerned
Forms of Warrant of Commitment prescribed under both the Codes
(of 1898 and 1973) was made by counsel for the petitioner but it is
obvious that non-prescription of appropriate Forms of Warrant of
Commitment would not affect the legality of the detention in local
G jails so long as the requisite legal authority and power in that behalf
is vested in the criminal court. Moreover, the Forms prescribed under
the codes cannot be regarded as exhaustive and an appropriate warrant
of commitment directing the execution or carrying out of sentence of
life imprisonment in jail could be adopted and issued by the court so
H long as in law the requisite authority and power in that behalf is
·MD. MUNNA v. U.0.1. [BALAKR!SHNAN, J.] 241
vested in the court." A
Another contebtion of the petitioner's counsel is regarding the nature
of the sentence of imprisonment for life and according to the petitioner's
counsel it cannot be equated with rigorous imprisonment for life. The petitioner
contends that the rigorous imprisonment is a separate punishment under clause
4(1) of "fourthly" of Section 53 !PC. The petitioner's contention is that the B
R.l. could be imposed only under clause "fourthly" of Section 53 in respect
of imprisonment for a term. The counsel would further contend that a person
sentenced to imprisonment for life could be subjected to R.I. for life only
under an order of detention passed under Section 55 of the !PC. This contention
also is without any merit. The sentence of imprisonment for life as noticed C
earlier was substituted for "transportation". There are ample materials to
show that a person who was sentenced to transportation had always been
subjected to hard labour. Transportation to overseas penal settlements implied
hard labour for the concerned convicts and the punishment of deportation
beyond seas was considered to be the most dreaded punishment and there
were series of rules and regulations governing management and control of D
penal settlements in the Port Blair and Nicobar islands. The Andaman &
Nicobar Jail Manual, a Govt. of India publication of 1908 contains several
rules and regulations and chapter 2 thereof deals with classification of convicts
and clause (3) of Section 17 specifically says that transportation entails hard
labour and strict discipline with only such food as is necessary for health and E
mitigation of the above is an indulgence which at any time could be withdrawn
in whole or in part. It is difficult to understand how such a punishment could
be deemed to have been substituted by simple imprisonment for life. Moreover
Section 53A of the IPC makes the position clear. Clause 2 of Section 53A
reads as follows :
F
"53A. Comtruction of reference to transportation.-

(1) .............. .

(2) ln every case in which a sentence of transportation for a term has
been passed before the commencement of the Code of Criminal G
Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1955 (26 of 1955), the offender shall
be dealt with in the same manner as if sentenced to rigorous
imprisonment for the same term."

Therefore, it is clear that if a person is sentenced to transportation for
a term, the same is converted to rigorous imprisonment for the same duration. H
242 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A Naturally, the transportation for life will only be treated as rigorous
imprisonment for life.

.. If a portion of the period of transportation for life is to be treated as
sentence of rigorous imprisonment for the same term, naturally, the entire
transportation period is to be treated as 'rigorous imprisonment for life.'
B Imprisonment for life is a class of punishment different from ordinary
imprisonment whiCh could be of two descriptions, namely, "rigorous" or
"simple". It was unnecessary for the Legislature to specifically mention that
the imprisonment for life would be rigorous imprisonment for life as it is
imposed as punishment for grave offences.
c In K.M Nanavali v. Stale of Maharashtra, AIR (1962) SC 605 the
High Court of Bombay had sentenced the offender to undergo rigorous
imprisonment for life. The appeal was dismissed by this Court with the
observation that the High Court rightly passed the sentence of imprisonment
for life. Therefore, we are of the view that "imprisonment for life" is to be
D treated as "rigorous imprisonment for life".
In Naib Singh 's case (supra), it was further held as under :

"17 ...... .In the first place, a distinction be.tween 'imprisonment for
life' and "imprisonment for a term" has been maintained in the Penal
E Code in several of its provisions. Secondly, by its very terms Section
60 is applicable to a case where "an offender is punishable with
imprisonment which may be of either description" and it is only in
such case that it is competent for the court to direct that "such
imprisonment shall be either wholly rigorous or wholly simple or that
any part of such imprisonment shall be rigorous and the rest simple."
F And it is clear that whenever an offender is punishable with
"imprisonment for life" he is not punishable with "imprisonment which
may be of either description", in other words Section 60 would be in
applicable.

18. However, for the reasons discussed above and in view of the
G authoritative pronouncements made by the Privy Council and this
Court in Kishori Lal case and Gopal Godse case respectively, it will
have to be held that the position in law as regards nature of punishment
involved in a sentence of imprisonment for life is well settled and the
sentence of imprisonment for life has to be equated to rigorous
H imprisonment for life ...... "
MD. MUNNA v. U.0.1. [BALAKRISHNAN, J.] 243
The counsel contended that by virtue of Rule 75l(C) of the West Bengal A
Jail Code, the petitioner was liable to be released from jail on completion of
twenty years. He also relied on the Explanation to Section 61 of the West
Bengal Correctional Services Act 1992 (W.B. Act No. XXXII of 1992) wherein
the imprisonment for life is equated to a term of twenty years simple
imprisonment for the purpose of remission. B_ut there is no provision either B
in the Indian Penal Code or in the Code of Criminal Procedure whereby life
imprisonment could be treated as fourteen years or twenty years without
there being a formal remission by the appropriate government. Section 57 of
Indian Penal Code reads as follows :

"57. Fractions of terms of punishment. - In calculating fractions of C
terms of punishment, imprisonment for life shall be reckoned as
equivalent to imprisonment for twenty years."

The above Section is applicable for the purpose of remission when the
matter is considered by the government under the appropriate provisions.
This very plea was placed before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council D
in Kishori Lal v. £.mperor, AIR (32) 1945 PC 64 and the Privy Council held
as under :

"Assuming that the sentence is to be regarded as one of 20 years, and
subject to remission for good conduct, he had not earned remission
sufficient to entitle him to discharge at the time of his application and E
it was therefore rightly dismissed but, in saying this, their Lordships
are not to be taken as meaning that a life sentence must and in all
cases be treated as one of not more than 20 years or that the convict
is necessarily entitled to remission."

The Prisons' Rules are made under the Prisons Act and the Prisons Act F
by itself does not confer any authority or power to commute or remit sentence.
It only provides for the regulation of the prisons and for the terms of the
prisoners confined therein. Therefore, the West Bengal Correctional Services
Act or the West Bengal Jail Code do not confer any special right on the
petitioner herein.
G
In Godse 's case (supra), the Constitution Bench of this Court held that
the sentence of imprisonment for life is not for any definite period and the
imprisonment for life must, prima facie, be treated as imprisonment for the
whole of the remaining period of the convict person's natural life. It was also
held in paragraph 5 as follows : H
244 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A " ....... It does not say that transportation for life shall be deemed to be
transportation for twenty years for all purposes; nor does the amended
section which substitutes the words "imprisonment for life" for
"transportation for life" enable the drawing of any such all-embracing
fiction. A sentence of transportation for life or imprisonment for life
must prime facie be treated as transportation or imprisonment for the
B whole of the remaining period of the convicted person's natural life."

Summarising the decision, it was held in para 8 as under:

"Briefly stated the legal position is this : Before Act XXVI of 1955
a sentence of transportation for life could be undergone by a prisoner
c by way of rigorous imprisonment for life in a designated prison in
India. After the said Act, such a convict shall be dealt with in the
same manner as one sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for the same
term. Unless the said sentence is commuted or remitted by appropriate
authority under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code or
D the Code of Criminal Procedure, a prisoner sentenced to life
imprisonment is bound in law to serve the life term in prison. The
rules framed under the Prisons Act enable such a prisoner to earn
remissions-ordinary, special and State and the said remissions will
be given credit towards his term of imprisonment. For the purpose of
working out the remissions the sentence of transportation for life is
E ordinarily equated with a definite period, but it is only for that
particular purpose and not for any other purpose. As the sentence of
transportation for life or its prison equivalent, the life im;>risonment,
is one of indefinite duration, the remissions so earned do not in practice
help such a convict as it is not possible to predicate the time of his
death. That is why the rules provide for a procedure to enable the
F
appropriate Government to remit the sentence under S. 401 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure on a consideration of the relevant factors,
including the period of remissions earned. The question of remission
is exclusively within the province of the appropriate Government;
and in this case it is admitted that, though the appropriate Government
G made certain remissions under S. 40 I of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, it did not remit the entire sentence. We, therefore, hold
that the petitioner has not yet acquired any right to release."

We are bound by the above dicta laid down by the Constitution Bench
and we hold that life imprisonment is not equivalent to imprisonment for
H >.
MD. MUNNA v. U.0.1. [BALAKRISHNAN, J.] 245
fourteen years or for twenty years as contended by the petitioner. A
Thus, all the contentions raised by the petitioner fail and the petitioner
is not entitled to be released on any of the grounds urged in the writ petition
so long as there is no order of remission passed by the appropriate government
in his favour. We make it clear that our decision need not be taken as
expression of our view that petitioner is not entitled to any remission at all. B
The appropriate government would be at liberty to pass any appropriate order
of remission in accordance with law.

Petitioner was released on bail by an order passed by this Court on
27.11.1998. We vacate that order. The respondents would be at liberty to
take the petitioner into custody and as regards remission the State Government C
may pass any appropriate order in accordance with law.

The writ petition is dismissed.

The connected Writ Petition No. 50 of 2003 is also dismissed in terms
of the judgment in the main writ petition. D·

V.M. Writ Petitions dismissed.