The Fact News Service
Chandigarh, April 27
The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has asserted that a prisoner should not ordinarily be denied the opportunity of attending a significant family event as his relatives also long for his presence.
The HC bench of justice Anoop Chitkara allowed a murder accused to attend the marriage functions of his sister’s two daughters in police presence even as the state had opposed it.
“The prisoner himself not only longs for presence, cooperation, support, and even financial help of the family but is also expected by the near and dear ones to reciprocate by attending their sacrosanct family functions, despite such attendance carrying the risk of social boycott or dejection,” the court observed.
The plea was from one Suraj of Rewari, an accused in an FIR registered on allegations of murder, among other offences, in May 2019 in Rewari. The trial court had dismissed his plea for attending the marriage function.
He had submitted that he has to perform a ritual, being the maternal uncle. In the plea, however, he had admitted that he had two more brothers. But he pleaded that his presence was also required in the marriage.
