CALCUTTA HIGH COURT: RIGHT TO DIGNITY UNDER ARTICLE 21 CANNOT DE DEPRIVED MERELY DUE TO CONVICTION

The Calcutta High Court in the case Mahuya Chakraborty Vs. The State of West Bengal and others observed and has held that the right of a person under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to live a life of dignity cannot be deprived which being merely because he was convicted.

The bench headed by single judge Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya in the case observed and has directed the Sentence Review Board, SSRB to reconsider the plea for premature release of the convict filed by his wife i.e., the petitioner.

The court held that the right of the petitioner under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to live a life of dignity cannot be deprived merely because the petitioner was convicted. Thus, the life behind the bars has already been undergone by the petitioner for a considerable period and there cannot be any double punishment on the petitioner by refusing the petitioner an opportunity to reintegrate in mainstream society even if the petitioner is otherwise being eligible.

In the present case, the petitioner had challenged the order of SSRB wherein it rejected the petition moved by her for the early release of her husband who had been convicted and handed a life sentence.