The Supreme Court Friday expressed dissatisfaction over an affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh government in a case and directed it to have a “correct format” of custody certificate which should be circulated to the concerned jail authorities.
Custody certificate contains details including the period of custody undergone by an undertrial or a convict.
A bench of Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh said the certificate should be clear in its terms as to the period undergone by the detenu.
“In fact, we consider appropriate to direct the respondent-State to have a correct format of a custody certificate which should be circulated to the concerned jail authorities and henceforth in all cases custody certificate should be filed in that format. In the present case also the custody certificate should be filed in that format,” the bench said in its order.
The top court was hearing a matter in which it had last month asked the state to submit a certificate showing the period undergone by the petitioner, who as per the report of the Juvenile Justice Board was a minor on the date of incident in 1980.
“We are not satisfied with the affidavit filed by the state of Uttar Pradesh simply for the reason that this is not the format in which a custody certificate should be filed,” the bench said.
It directed that a proper custody certificate be filed along with an affidavit affirming that necessary communications have been sent to the jail authorities in this regard.
The bench has posted the matter for hearing on November 26.
The top court was hearing a petition filed by the man, held guilty in a case, against the July 2019 order of the Allahabad High Court.
He was convicted by a trial court in 1987 and sentenced to four year rigorous imprisonment.
His counsel had argued in the high court that sentence of imprisonment awarded to him be reduced.
However, the high court had dismissed the plea observing it cannot be said that punishment awarded to him is excessive.
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