CHENNAI: A five-judge bench of the Madras High Court has begun hearing a reference made by a division bench on granting parole to convict-prisoners when appeals against conviction are pending before the high court or the Supreme Court.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and comprising justices C V Karthikeyan, A D Jagadish Chandira, M Nirmal Kumar and Sunder Mohan, took up the matter following a reference made by a division bench on November 19, 2025. The reference was made by Justices N Sathish Kumar and M Jothiraman while hearing petitions seeking emergency leave for convict-prisoners.
The issue before the five-judge bench is whether leave under TN Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982, can be granted by the high court under Article 226 of the Constitution when appeal against conviction is pending before the HC or SC.
It is also considering whether power to exempt Rule 40 of TN Suspension of Sentence Rules can be exercised by the state to give leave outside the scope of these Rules when appeal is pending before the HC or SC.
When the respective counsel for the petitioners as well as the state counsel (criminal side) John Sathyan submitted that the court is well within its powers to order grant of leave under Article 226 of the Constitution, even if the appeal is pending, the bench said it would appoint a lawyer to assist the court in this matter.
The matter has been adjourned to June 19.