Theobj ectofCriminalLawismor eincli

nedtowar dst hereformat i

onoft heoffendert hant o
punishhim.I nst
eadofkeepinganaccusedwi thhar denedcr i
mi nalsinapr ison,thecour tcan
orderper sonalf
reedom onpr omiseofgoodbehav iourandcanal soor deraper iodof
super v
isi
onov eranoffender.Thisi
st heconceptbehi nd‘probation’.Black’slawdi cti
onar y
defines‘probati
on’as‘
all
owingaper sonconvictedofsomemi norof f
ence( parti
cularl
yj uveni
le
offenders)togoatl ar
ge,underasuspensionofsent ence,duringgoodbehav iour,andgener all
y
undert hesupervisi
onorguar di
anshipofa‘probationof f
icer’
.

Iti
sbeliev
edt hatimpr i
sonmentdecr easesthecapacityofanof f
endertor eadjustt
ot henormal
soci
etyafterthereleaseandassoci ati
onwi thprof
essionaldel
inquentsoftenhasundesi red
eff
ectsonhi m andhi sli
fethereaft
er.Probati
onisasoci al
i
zedpenal devicewhi chhascomeup
astheresultofmodi fi
cation,overaperiodoftime,ofthedoctri
neofdet errenceint
ot he
pri
ncipl
eofr efor
mat i
on; adev el
opmentt hatpavedthewayt otheintr
oduct i
onofcl i
nical
approachandt hepr i
ncipl
eofi ndi
vidual
izati
oninthehandlingofoffenders.

Accor dingtoar eportoftheUnitedNat i

ons,Depar tmentofSoci alAffai
rs,‘
Releaseofof fenders
onpr obat i
oni satreatmentdevi
cepr escri
bedbyt hecourtfortheper sonsconv ict
edofof fences
againstt helaw,dur i
ngwhichthepr obati
onerli
v esinthecommuni tyandr egulateshisownl if
e
undercondi tionsimposedbyt hecour torotherconstitut
edaut horit
y,andissubj ecttothe
superv i
sionbyapr obati
onoffi
cer’
.Thesuspensi onofsent enceunderpr obationser v
est hedual
purposeofdet err
enceandr efor
mat ion.I
tprovidesnecessar yhelpandgui dancet othe
probat i
onerinhisr ehabi
li
tat
ionandatt hesamet imethet hreatofbeingsubj ectedto
unexhaust edsent enceactsasasuf f
ici
entdeterrenttokeephi m awayf rom criminal
ity
.

TheProbati
onofOffendersAct,1958,i
sbasedont heconceptt hatyoungof fenderscanbe
savedfr
om becominghabitualoff
endersbytreat
ingthem amicablyandpr ovidingthem wit
ha
chancetoref
ormratherthandumpi ngthem i
ntojai
ls.Theprobati
onof f
icerinsistsonthe
probl
em orneedoftheoffenderandtri
estosolvehisproblem andseest oitthattheoffender
becomesausefulcit
izenofthesociety
.

St
atut
oryPr
ovi
sionsDeal
i
ngWi
thPr
obat
ion

Theear l
iestpr ovisi
ont ohav edeal twit
hpr obat ionwassect ionS.562oft heCodeofCr i
mi nal
Procedur e, 1898.Af t
eramendmenti n1974i tst andsasS. 360ofTheCodeofCr iminal
Procedur e, 1974. I
treadsasf ollows:-‘
Whenanyper sonnotundert went y-oney ear
sofagei s
conv i
ctedofanof f
encepuni shablewi t
hf ineonl yorwi thimprisonmentf orat erm ofsev en
yearsorl ess,orwhenanyper sonundert went y-oneyearsofageoranywomani sconv ictedof
anof fencenotpuni shabl ewi thdeat hori mpr isonmentf orli
fe,andnopr ev i
ousconv i
ctionis
provedagai nstt heof fender ,ifitappearst otheCour tbeforewhi chhei sconv i
cted,regardbei ng
hadt ot heage, charact erorant ecedentsoft heof f
ender,andt ot hecircumst ancesinwhi chthe
offencewascommi t
ted, thatiti sexpedientt hattheof f
endershoul dber eleasedonpr obationof
goodconduct ,theCour tmay , i
nsteadofsent encinghi m atoncet oanypuni shment ,directthat
heber eleasedonhi sent eringi ntoabond, withorwi thoutsureties,toappearandr ecei ve
sentencewhencal ledupondur ingsuchper iod( notexceedingt hreey ears)ast heCour tmay
dir
ectandi nthemeant imet okeept hepeaceandbeofgoodbehav iour’
.

TheProbat
ionofOffendersAct,1958andS.360oftheCodeofCrimi
nalPr
ocedure,
1973
excl
udetheappl
icati
onoft heCodewheretheActisappl
ied.TheCodeal
sogiveswaytost
ate
l
egisl
ati
onwherevertheyhavebeenenacted.
Theobjectof
S.360CrPCi stopreventy oungper sonsf r
om beingcommi tt
edt ojail
,wher
ethey
mayassociat
ewi t
hhar denedcriminals,whomayl eadt hem furt
heral
ongt hepat hofcr
ime,and
tohel
pev enmenofmor ematurey earswhof orthef irstti
memayhav ecommi ttedcri
mes
thr
oughignor
ance,orinadvert
enceort hebadi nfluenceofot hersandwho, butforsuchlapses,
mightbeexpectedtobegoodci tizens.Iti
snoti nt endedt hatthi
ssect
ionshoul dbeappli
edto
exper
iencedmenoft hewor l
dwhodel iberat
elyfloutt helawandcommi toffences.

TheHon’
bleSupremeCour
tinJugal
Kishor
ePr
asadv
.St
ateofBi
har
[1]
,
expl
ainedt
her
ati
onal
e
oft
heprovi
sion:

“Theobjectoftheprovi
sioni
stopreventt
heconversi
onofyouthf
ulof
fendersi
ntoobdur
ate
cri
mi nal
sasar esul
tofthei
rassoci
ati
onwithhar
denedcrimi
nalsofmatureageincaset
he
youthfulof
fendersar
esentencedtounder
goimprisonmenti
njail
.
”

Whil
edeali
ngwi
ththi
sAct
,thet
hreemosti
mpor t
antpr
ovisi
onst
hatneedt
obehi
ghl
i
ght
edar
e
sect
ions3,
4and6.Wewil
lnowseeeachofthesesect
ionsonebyone.

Sect
ion3

Powerofcour ttorel easecer t

ainoffender safteradmoni tion.
—Whenanyper soni sfoundguilt
y
ofhav i
ngcommi t
tedanof fencepuni shableundersect i
on379orsect i
on380orsect i
on381or
secti
on404orsect i
on420oft heIndianPenal Code, (
45of1860)oranyof fencepuni shable
withi
mpr isonmentf ornotmor ethant woy ears,orwi thfine,orwithboth,undert heIndianPenal
Code, oranyot herlaw, andnopr evi
ousconv i
cti
oni spr ovedagai nsthi
m andt hecour tbywhi ch
theper soni sf
oundgui lt
yi sofopi ni
ont hat,havi
ngr egardt othecircumstancesoft hecase
i
ncludingt henatureoft heof fence,andt hecharact eroft heof f
ender,i
tisexpedi entsot odo,
then,notwi t
hstandingany thingcontai nedinanyot herlawf orthetimebeingi nforce,thecourt
may ,
inst eadofsent enci nghi mt oanypuni shmentorr eleasinghim onprobat ionofgood
conductundersect ion4r eleasehim af terdueadmoni ti
on.

Sect
ion4

Powerofcour ttorel
easecer tainof fender sonpr obat ionofgoodconduct .
—(1)Whenany
personisfoundguilt
yofhav ingcommi ttedanof fencenotpuni shablewi t
hdeathor
i
mpr isonmentforli
feandt hecour tbywhi chtheper soni sfoundgui l
tyisofopini
onthat,hav i
ng
regardtothecir
cumst ancesoft hecasei ncludingt henat ureoft heoffenceandthechar acterof
theof f
ender,
iti
sexpedienttor eleasehim onpr obat ionofgoodconduct ,t
hen,notwi
thstanding
anythingcontai
nedinanyot herl awf orthet imebei ngi nforce,thecour tmay,i
nsteadof
sentencinghi
m atoncet oanypuni shmentdi r
ectt hatheber eleasedonhi senteri
ngintoabond,
withorwi t
houtsuret
ies,toappearandr eceiv esent encewhencal l
edupondur i
ngsuchper i
od,
notexceedingthreeyears,ast hecour tmaydi r
ect , andi nthemeant i
met okeepthepeaceand
beofgoodbehav i
our.

Prov i
dedthatthecourtshall
notdir
ectsuchrel
easeofanof f
enderunl
essiti
ssati
sfi
edthatthe
offenderorhissuret
y,ifany,hasafi
xedplaceofabodeorregul
aroccupat
ionint
heplaceover
whi chthecourtexer
cisesjur
isdi
cti
onorinwhichtheoff
enderisl
ikel
ytoli
veduri
ngtheperi
od
forwhi chheentersi
ntothebond.

(
2)Beforemakinganyorderundersub-sect
ion(1),
thecour
tshal
ltakei
ntoconsi
der
ati
ont
he
r
epor
t,ifany
,oftheprobat
ionoffi
cerconcernedinrel
ati
ontot
hecase.
(3)Whenanor derundersub-secti
on(1)ismade, t
hecourtmay,ifiti
sofopinionthatinthe
i
nterest
soft heoff
enderandoft hepubli
ci tisexpedi
entsotodo, i
naddit
ionpassasuper visi
on
orderdi
recti
ngthattheoffendershal
lremai nunderthesupervi
sionofaprobat i
onoffi
cernamed
i
nt heorderduri
ngsuchper i
od,notbeinglesst hanoneyear,
asmaybespeci fi
edtherein,and
mayi nsuchsupervi
sionorder,i
mposesuchcondi ti
onsasitdeemsnecessar yforthedue
supervi
sionoftheoffender.

(4)Thecour tmakingasupervi
sionorderundersub-section(3)shallr
equiretheoffender
,befor
e
hei srel
eased,toenteri
ntoabond,withorwi t
houtsur et
ies,t
oobservet hecondit
ionsspecif
ied
i
nsuchor derandsuchadditi
onalcondi
tionswithrespectt or
esidence,abstent
ionfrom
i
ntoxicantsoranyothermatterasthecour tmay,havingregardtothepar t
icul
arcir
cumstances,
considerfitt
oimposef orpr
eventi
ngar epeti
ti
onoft hesameof fenceoracommi ssionofother
offencesbyt heoff
ender.

(
5)Thecourtmakingasupervi
sionorderundersub-sect
ion(3)shal
lexpl
aint
otheoffenderthe
t
ermsandcondit
ionsoftheorderandshallfort
hwit
hf ur
nishonecopyofthesuper
visi
onor der
t
oeachoftheoff
enders,thesur
eties,
ifany,andtheprobati
onoffi
cerconcer
ned.

Sect
ion6

Restri
cti
onsoni mprisonmentofof fender
sundert wenty-
oney earsofage.—(1)Whenany
personundert wenty
-oney earsofagei sf
oundgui l
tyofhavingcommi tt
edanof f
ence
punishablewit
hi mprisonment( butnotwithimprisonmentf orli
fe),t
hecourtbywhi chthe
personisfoundguilt
yshal l notsent encehi
mt oimpr i
sonmentunl essitissati
sfi
edt hat
,having
regardtothecircumst ancesoft hecasei ncl
udingthenat ur
eoft heof f
enceandt hecharacterof
theoffender
,itwouldnotbedesi rabletodealwit
hhi m undersection3orsection4, andift
he
courtpassesanysent enceofi mpr i
sonmentont heof f
ender,itshallr
ecordit
sreasonsf ordoing
so.

(2)Forthepurposeofsati
sfyi
ngitselfwhet
heritwouldnotbedesirabl
etodeal undersect
ion3
orsecti
on4wi thanoffenderr
eferredtoinsub-secti
on(1)t
hecourtshallcall
forareportf
rom
theprobati
onoffi
cerandconsiderthereport
,ifany,andanyot
herinformationavai
labl
etoit
rel
ati
ngt othechar
acterandphysicalandment alcondi
ti
onoftheoffender.

I
mpor
tantCaseLawsonSect
ions3,
4&6ofThePr
obat
ionofOf
fender
sAct

InKeshavSit
ar am Saliv.Stat
eofMahar asht
ra[2]
,itwasheldbytheSupremeCour tt
hati
na
caseofpett
yt hefttheHi ghCour
tshouldhaveext endedthebenefi
tofeit
hersect
ion360oft
he
CodeofCriminal Procedureorsecti
ons3and4oft hePr
obati
onofOf f
endersActtothe
appel
lanti
nsteadofi mposi ngasentenceoffineonhi m.

I
nBasi kesanv .Stat
eofOrissa[3],
ay out
hof20y earswasf oundguil
tyofanof
fencepunishabl
e
undersection380ofI ndi
anPenal Code,1860andnopr ev
iousconvict
ionwasprovedagainst
him.Itwashel dbythecourtt hatt
heof f
encecommi tt
edbyt heaccusedwasnotoutof
deli
beratepr eparati
onordesignbuti twasaf i
tcaseforappli
cati
onofsecti
on3andhebe
rel
easedaf terdueadmoni tion.

I
nDaulatRam v.St
ateofHaryana[
4],
itwasheldthatt
heobjectofsect
ion6i
stoensuret
hat
j
uvenil
eoff
endersarenotsentt
ojai
lforoff
enceswhicharenotsoseri
ousastowarr
ant
i
mprisonmentforl
i
fe,wit
hav i
ewtopreventthem f
rom cont
aminati
onduetocont
actwit
h
har
denedcr
iminal
softhejai
l
.Theref
ore,
thepr
ovi
sionshoul
dbel
i
ber
all
yconst
ruedkeepi
ngi
n
vi
ewthespi
ri
tembodiedther
ein.

Thequesti
onofageoft hepersonisrelevantnotforthepurposeofdet er
mini
nghisgui
l
tbut
onl
yforthepurposeofpunishmentwhi chheshoul dsuff
erfortheoffenceofwhi
chheisfound
gui
lt
y.Theref
ore,whereacourtfoundthatoffenderwasnotundert heageof21y ear
sonthe
dat
ewhencour tfoundhim gui
lt
y,sub-secti
on(1)ofsection6wi l
lnotapply[
5]

Sal
i
entFeat
uresofThePr
obat
ionofOf
fender
sAct
,1958

TheProbati
onofOffender
sAct(ActNo.28of1958)contai
nselabor
ateprov
isi
onsrel
ati
ngto
probat
ionofof
fenders,
whicharemadeappl
icabl
ethroughoutt
hecountry
.Wewi l
lnowobserve
thesal
ientf
eat
uresoftheAct:
-

·TheProbati
onofOffender
sAct,1958isint
endedtor ef
ormtheamat euroff
endersbyprovi
ding
rehabi
l
itat
ioninsoci
etyandtopreventt
heconversi
onofy out
hfuloff
endersint
oobdurate
cri
minalsunderenvi
ronmental
infl
uencebykeepi
ngt hem i
njai
lsalongwithhardenedcr
iminals.

·
Itai
mst orel
easefir
stoffenders,
aft
erdueadmoni ti
onorwar ningwithadvi
ce,whoareal
leged
t
ohav ecommi t
tedanoffencepunishableunderSecti
ons379, 380,381,404orSect
ion420of
t
heIndianPenalCodeandal soincaseofanyof f
encepunishablewithimpri
sonmentfornot
morethantwoy ear
s,orwithfine,
orwithboth.

·
ThisActempowerstheCourtt
orel
easecert
ainoff
ender
sonpr
obati
onofgoodconducti
fthe
of
fenceall
egedtohavebeencommitt
edisnotpuni
shabl
ewi
thdeat
horli
fei
mprisonment
.
However,
he/sheshoul
dbekeptundersuper
visi
on.

·TheActinsi
ststhattheCourtmayorderf
orpaymentbyt
heoffendersuchcompensat
ionanda
costoftheproceedingsasitthi
nksr
easonabl
eforl
ossori
njur
ycausedt ot
hevi
cti
m.

·TheActprovi
desspecial pr
otect
iont
opersonsundertwent
y-oney
earsofagebynot
sentenci
ngthem toi
mpr isonment.However
,thi
sprovi
sioni
snotavai
l
abletoaper
sonfound
guil
tyofanoffencepunishablewithl
i
feimpri
sonment.

·
TheActpr ov
idesfr
eedom tot
heCourttovar
ythecondi
ti
onsofbondwhenanoff
enderi
s
r
eleasedonprobati
onofgoodconductandtoext
endtheper
iodofpr
obati
onnott
oexceed
t
hreey ear
sfr
om thedateofor
igi
nalor
der.

·TheActempower stheCourttoissueawarr
antofarr
estorsummonstot
heoffenderandhis
sureti
esrequir
ingt
hem toattendtheCour
tonthedateandti
mespeci
fi
edinthesummonsi fan
offenderr
eleasedonprobat
ionofgoodconductfai
lst
oobservet
hecondi
ti
onsofbond.

·
TheActempower stheCour
ttotr
yandsentencet
heof
fendert
oimpr
isonmentunderthe
provi
si
onsofthi
sAct.Suchor
dermayalsobemadebytheHighCour
toranyotherCourtwhen
thecasecomesbeforei
tonappealori
nrev
isi
on.

·TheActprov
idesanimportantrol
etotheprobat
ionoffi
cerstohel
ptheCourtandtosuper
vise
t
heprobati
onersputunderhim andtoadvi
seandassistthem t
ogetsui
tabl
eempl oy
ment.

·
TheActex
tendst
othewhol
eofIndi
aexceptt
heStat
eofJammuandKashmir.ThisActcomes
i
ntof
orcei
naStat
eonsuchdat
east heSt
ateGov
ernmentmay
,bynot
if
icat
ionintheOffi
cial
Gazett
e,appoi
nt.I
tal
sopr ovi
desl
iber
tytoStat
eGov
ernment
stobr
ingt
heActi
ntof
orceon
di
ffer
entdatesi
ndiff
erentpart
softhatSt
ate.

Dut
iesofAPr
obat
ionOf
fi
cer

Sec14oft
heActdeal
swi
tht
hedut
iesofapr
obat
ionof
fi
cer
.Itst
ates:
-

Apr
obat
ionof
fi
cershal
l
,subj
ectt
osuchcondi
ti
onsandr
est
ri
cti
ons,
asmaybepr
escr
ibed-

(a)enquir
e,i
naccordancewit
hanydirecti
onsofacourt,
int
ot heci
rcumstancesorhome
surroundi
ngsofanypersonaccusedofanof f
encewithaviewtoassistt
hecourti
ndeter
mini
ng
themostsuitabl
emet hodofdeal
ingwithhim andsubmi
treport
stothecourt;

(b)super
viseprobat
ioner
sandot
herpersonspl
acedunderhi
ssuper
visi
onand,
wher
e
necessar
y,endeavourtofi
ndt
hem sui
tabl
eemployment;

(
c)adv
iseandassi
stof
fender
sint
hepay
mentofcompensat
ionorcost
sor
der
edbyt
he

Cour
t;

(d)adv
iseandassi
st,i
nsuchcasesandi
nsuchmannerasmaybepr
escr
ibed,
per
sonswho
havebeenrel
easedundersect
ion4;

(
e)per
for
m suchot
herdut
iesasmaybepr
escr
ibed.

Of
fencesI
nWhi
chPr
obat
ionCannotBeGr
ant
ed

Wewi
l
lnowdeal
wit
hthosecaseswher
epr
obat
ioncannotbegr
ant
ed:
-

1)InAhmedv .Stat
eofRajast
han[6]
,i
twashel
dthatthebenefi
toft
hisActcannotbeext
ended
toapersonwhohasi ndul
gedinanactwhi
chhasresult
edintoanexpl
osi
vesituat
ionl
eadi
ngto
possi
bil
it
iesofcommunal t
ension.

2)InStat
eofMahar asht
rav.Natver
lal
[7]
,theSupr emeCour tdecl
i
nedt oaccordt
otheaccused
foundgui
lty
,thebenefi
tofProbat
ionofOff endersActbecausesmuggl ingofgol
dnotonl
y
affect
spubli
crevenueandpubli
ceconomy ,butoftenescapesdetect
ion.

3)AgaininSmt.Devkiv.Stat
eofHar y
ana[
8],
itwasheldthatthebenef
itofSect
ion4wouldnot
beextendedtotheabomi nablecul
pri
twhowasf oundguil
tyofabduct
ingateenagegi
rland
forcedhertosexualsubmissi
onwithcommer ci
almoti
ve.

4)I
n2015, aSupr emeCour tbenchconsisti
ngofJust i
cesPinakiChandraGhoseandUday
UmeshLal i
thasr uledthatt hebenef
itofPr obati
onofOffendersActcannotbeextendedto
accusedinvolvedincr i
mesagai nstwomen[ 9]
Theaccused,SriChandwasallegedtohavelur
ed
a12y earoldgirl
,whowasgr azi
ngbuffaloesinthejungl
e,andtakingheri
ntoar oom wher
ein
shewasf orcibl
yundr essedandt heoffenseofr apewascommi t
tedonher.Thecourtwhil
e
giv
ingthejudgmentr el
iedoncasesl i
keAzharAl iv
.Stat
eofWestBengal [
10]andStat
eof
HimachalPr adeshv .Dharam Pal[
11]

I
tisasett
ledlawthatnobodycanclai
m benef
itundert heActasamat t
erofri
ght[
12].I
twas
obser
vedinStat
eofSikki
mv .Dor
jeeSherpaAndOr s[13]t
hattheCour
tshouldnottaketechni
cal
vi
ewsincertai
ncasesandshouldtakeint
oconsiderati
onsomeot heraspect
ssuchas
possibi
li
tyoflosingthejob,fori
nv oki
ngthepr ovisi
onsofProbati
onofOffender
sActev eni
n
seri
ousof f
ences.Ithasfurtherbeencont endedt hatt
heCourtshoul
dalsotakeint
o
considerat
ionthattheconvictsbelongingtomi ddlecl
assfamil
ieswit
houtanycriminal
antecedentoftenbecomev icti
m ofcircumst ancesbecauseofundesi
rabl
ecompanyandot her
evi
l i
nfl
uencesav ai
labl
et osuchy ounggener ati
on.

Thepr
ovi
sionsofPr
obat
ionofOf
fender
sAct
,1958nor
mal
l
ycannotbeappl
i
edt
o:-

·ACBcases[
14]

·Sect
ion304oft
heI
ndi
anPenal
Code,

·NDPSCases[
15]

·Sect
ion304-
A[16]
oft
heI
ndi
anPenal
Code

·Sect
ion325oft
heI
ndi
anPenal
Code

·Sect
ions409,
467,
471oft
heI
ndi
anPenal
Code[
17]

·Ki
dnapandabduct
ion[
18]

·Habi
tual
off
ender
s[19]
.

Concl
usi
on

Toconcl ude, i
tcanbesai dthatthemeasur eofalter
nativepunishmenti .e.,
probat ionandt he
objectiveoftheoryofreformativepunishmentwoul dbeachi evedonlyift hejudiciaryandt he
admi nistr
ati
onwor ktogether.Itwouldbeofgr eatbenefi
tforacount ryli
keI ndia,wher et hej
ail
s
areof t
enov ercrowded,withfrequenthumanr ightsvi
olat
ionswhi chwoul dhar dent hehuman
i
nsi deaper son.Probat
ionisanaf fi
rmat i
onoft hehumani nsideeverybei ngandi tmustbe
givenimpor tance.Thereform andrehabili
tat
ionprocesshav etobewor kedouti ncont extof
existi
ngsoci alcondi
ti
onst oachievetheultimateobjecti
vetor ecl
aim backt hoseof fendersto
orderlysociety