In a rare incident, the Rajasthan High Court has granted 15-day parole to a man so that he could get his wife pregnant. The order has been given by the Jodhpur bench of the high court.
The order came by the two-judge bench of justices Sandeep Mehta and Farjand Ali on the petition of 34-year-old Nand Lal’s wife Rekha, who sought the release of her husband on the “right of progeny”.
The judges said in their order that the spouse of Nand Lal is innocent and “her sexual and emotional needs associated with marital lives are affected” by the man’s imprisonment.
“Thus, viewing from any angle, it can safely be concluded that the right or wish to have progeny is available to a prisoner as well subject to the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case,” the high court said.
“It is also found apposite to hold that the spouse of the convict-prisoner cannot be deprived of his or her right to get progeny,” the bench further said in the April 5 order.
The court cited Hindu scriptures, including the Rig Veda, as well as referred to the tenets of Judaism, Christianity and some other Abrahamic religions.
“If we see the matter with the religious aspect; as per Hindu philosophy, Garbhadhan, i.e. attaining the wealth of the womb is the first of the 16 sacraments,” said the judgement.
It also highlighted that preservation of lineage is also greatly emphasised by the Islamic Shariah and the Cairo declaration of human rights in Islam also supported the protection of lineage in Islam.
Presenting the legal aspect, the court linked the right to progeny to the fundamental right of life as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. “The Constitution guarantees that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. It includes within its ambit the prisoners also,” said the judges.
Nand Lal has been serving life sentence awarded by a Bhilwara court in Rajasthan in 2019, and is lodged in Ajmer Central Jail. He was granted a 20-day parole in 2021. The court noted that Nand Lal’s conduct had been exceedingly well in the jail premises.
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