What Is Parole and Furlough for Tihar Jail Prisoners?

Parole and furlough in Tihar: what each one means

Parole and furlough in Tihar are both temporary releases of a convicted prisoner, but they exist for different reasons. Parole is release for a stated purpose: a parent in hospital, a death in the family, a daughter's wedding, the delivery of the convict's wife, or a house damaged by a flood or fire. The convict asks for it because something has happened at home. Furlough has no such trigger. It is a regular break given to long-term prisoners with good conduct, so that they keep their ties with family and have a reason to stay disciplined inside.

The difference shows up in arithmetic. Days spent on furlough are counted as part of the sentence. Days on parole are not, so a convict who spends four weeks on parole serves four extra weeks at the end. The Supreme Court explained this in Asfaq v. State of Rajasthan (2017), and in State of Gujarat v. Narayana (2021) it said furlough is a reward for good conduct, not an absolute right.

Both apply to convicts only. A person whose trial is going on is an undertrial, and the prison authorities have no power to release an undertrial on parole or furlough. For an undertrial, the route is the court: interim bail for a few weeks, or custody parole for a few hours under police escort. This confusion causes many wasted applications, so check the prisoner's status first.

All three Delhi jail complexes, Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli, are run by the Delhi Prisons department under the Government of NCT of Delhi, so the same rules apply to all of them.

The Delhi Prison Rules parole and furlough provisions

Who is eligible for parole, and on what grounds

A convict generally becomes eligible for parole after one year in prison as a convict. The time spent as an undertrial before conviction is not counted for this purpose, though the Rules make room for prisoners who spent a very long period as undertrials. The jail checks conduct: a major jail punishment in the last two years, or any punishment in the last year, can make the convict ineligible for the time being. A convict who misbehaved, committed an offence or overstayed during a previous release starts at a serious disadvantage.

The grounds are practical. Serious illness of a family member, the death of a close relative, the marriage of the convict or of a son, daughter or sibling, the delivery of the convict's wife, repairs to a house damaged by a natural calamity, and pressing family matters such as harvesting or a property dispute that needs the convict's presence. Parole has also been allowed to maintain family and social ties after long periods inside. The reason must be real and verifiable, because the police will check it.

After one parole, six months must normally pass from the date of surrender before the next. The exception is an emergency: if a parent dies a month after the convict returned from parole for a sister's wedding, the six-month gap does not stop a fresh application. Separately, the total in a calendar year cannot exceed eight weeks, and the Delhi High Court has generally treated this cap as binding.

Some convicts face closer scrutiny: those convicted of certain grave offences, those with other cases pending, and those who are not Indian citizens. These are not always outright bars, but the authority will look harder at the risk of flight and the safety of the victim's family.

Furlough: who qualifies and how often

Furlough is meant for convicts serving longer sentences who have already spent a substantial period in jail after conviction, with good conduct ratings in their recent annual conduct reports. The precise qualifying period depends on the sentence and the category of offence, so check the current rule against the convict's nominal roll before applying. Convicts in some grave categories get fewer spells in their first years of eligibility.

Once eligible, a convict can get up to 49 days of furlough in a conviction year, in three spells. A conviction year runs from the date of conviction, not the calendar year, which confuses families. The Delhi High Court has upheld refusals where the convict had already used the full 49 days in the year, and Delhi Prisons' standing order tells superintendents to explain to convicts how to use all three spells without overlap. There is also a waiting period of about a month after surrender before the next spell can be sought.

Furlough does not need a family emergency. A convict can ask for it simply because it is due. It can still be refused for bad conduct, a pending case, a fear of absconding or a threat to the victim, but the authority has to give reasons. The Supreme Court in Narayana said furlough is not a right, yet the High Court regularly sets aside refusals that rest on vague or irrelevant grounds.

Emergency parole: what it was and whether it still exists

The phrase emergency parole is used for two different things, and it helps to keep them apart. The first is the relaxation inside the ordinary rules: in an emergency such as a death or terminal illness in the family, parole can be considered even if six months have not passed since the last parole. This is part of regular parole and applies at any time.

The second is the special emergency parole created in 2020, when the Delhi Government amended the Prison Rules during COVID-19 to decongest jails. Eligible convicts were released for long spells by government decision, and the release was extended several times. That scheme depended on a government declaration of an emergency situation such as an epidemic. It is not something a convict can invoke on his own today. If you read about emergency parole in old news reports, do not assume it is available now.

For a sudden crisis, such as a parent's death, the practical tool is usually custody parole for a few hours or an urgent regular parole application with the death certificate. If those fail and time is short, an urgent writ in the High Court is possible, and the court does list genuine emergencies quickly.

Custody parole: a few hours under escort

Custody parole is release for a few hours under police escort, so the prisoner never leaves custody. It is used for funerals, cremations, weddings and visits to a gravely ill relative. For convicts, the jail authorities can grant it. For undertrials, the trial court or the High Court grants it, usually on the same day if the need is urgent and the papers are clear.

The family normally has to bear the escort arrangements in practice, and the visit is confined to the place and hours fixed. Custody parole within Delhi is easier to arrange than a visit to a village in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, where the police may say the distance makes escort impractical. In such cases courts sometimes grant short interim bail instead, with strict conditions.

Custody parole is often the quickest relief when a death occurs, because it does not need a police verification of the family address in the way regular parole does.

How long each stage takes, and what it costs

How to apply for parole from Tihar, step by step

1. Confirm the prisoner is a convict

   Check the judgment and sentence order. If an appeal is pending and the sentence is not suspended, the prisoner is still a convict for parole purposes. If the trial is still going on, parole is the wrong remedy.

2. Get the nominal roll

   Ask the jail for the nominal roll, which records the sentence, the date of conviction, time served and remission, and the conduct and punishment record. It tells you whether the one-year and conduct conditions are met.

3. Collect proof of the reason

   For illness, a recent certificate from the treating hospital with diagnosis and the doctor's details. For a wedding, the card and a letter from the family. For a death, the death certificate. Proof must be specific and checkable.

4. File the application through the jail

   The convict signs the application, usually with help from the jail welfare officer or the legal aid desk. The family can also send it with documents. Keep a copy with the date of submission.

5. Follow up on police verification

   The Home Department asks the local police station for a report on the address and the reason. Make sure someone is at home and the documents are ready when the beat officer visits.

6. Get the order and furnish bonds

   If granted, the order fixes the period, the surety and conditions such as reporting to the local SHO. Arrange the surety quickly so release is not delayed.

7. If refused or not decided, go to the High Court

   Get the rejection order. A criminal writ petition can be filed in the Delhi High Court asking it to quash the order and direct release, or to direct a decision within a fixed time.

Documents for a parole or furlough application

• Judgment and order on sentence, and any appellate court order
• Nominal roll and conduct report from the jail
• Previous parole or furlough orders, with dates of release and surrender
• Proof of the reason: medical certificate, wedding card, death certificate, or proof of calamity damage
• Address proof of the place where the convict will stay
• Identity documents and address proof of the surety
• Mobile numbers of the convict's family and the surety
• Copy of the rejection order and police report, if the application was refused

Who decides, and which court hears a challenge

Regular parole is decided by the Home Department of the Government of NCT of Delhi, on the jail superintendent's recommendation and a police verification report. Furlough is decided within the Delhi Prisons administration on the jail's records. Custody parole for convicts is handled by the jail authorities. Courts do not decide parole in the first instance, though the trial court or the High Court can grant interim bail or custody parole to an undertrial.

When a parole or furlough application is rejected or not decided, the remedy is a criminal writ petition under Article 226 in the Delhi High Court, against the Government of NCT of Delhi and the prison authorities. It is heard by a single judge according to the roster. Because every Delhi jail is run by the Delhi Government, the Delhi High Court is the right forum for any convict held in Tihar, Rohini or Mandoli, wherever the convict's home is. Our page on parole and furlough challenges in the Delhi High Court explains the petition.

A convict held in a Haryana or Uttar Pradesh jail is governed by that state's rules, and the challenge goes to that state's High Court. If a prisoner convicted elsewhere has been transferred to Tihar, check which rules and which government apply before filing.

Why applications are refused, and what the High Court looks at

The most common reason for refusal is an adverse police report. The local police may say the convict's release could disturb peace in the area, that the victim's family lives nearby and fears him, or that the reason given could not be verified. The High Court has often set aside refusals where the police report was vague, did not refer to any specific incident, or simply repeated the seriousness of the original crime, which the trial court already punished.

Other common reasons: the one-year period is not complete, a jail punishment in the recent past, a previous overstay, another case pending, or the annual limit already used. Some of these are hard bars under the Rules and the High Court will not override them. A convict who has already used eight weeks of parole in the calendar year, or 49 days of furlough in the conviction year, is unlikely to get more by going to court.

When the High Court grants relief, it usually fixes the period itself and adds conditions: a personal bond with one surety, weekly reporting to the local SHO, staying at the verified address, keeping a phone switched on with location shared with the IO or SHO, and surrendering on the due date. Some orders send the matter back to the authority to decide again within a short time.

When Advocate B.K. Singh prepares a parole petition after a rejection, he reads the police verification report line by line against the convict's jail record. A refusal that relies on the old crime alone, while the jail reports ten years of clean conduct and two earlier paroles with timely surrender, is the kind of order the High Court tends to send back.

Conditions during release, and the cost of overstaying

A convict on parole or furlough is still serving a sentence. The order will fix where he must stay, how often he must report, and the date and time of surrender. He must not contact the victim or witnesses, must not leave the area without permission, and must keep his phone on. A relative usually stands surety and is answerable if he does not return.

Overstaying is treated as escape or unauthorised absence. It can lead to a criminal case, loss of earned remission, rejection of future parole and furlough, and action against the surety. Even a delay of a day or two because of a missed train can damage the record. If there is a genuine reason to need more time, such as a death during the parole, apply for extension before the surrender date, not after.

Extensions are not automatic. The authority or the court will want fresh proof, and the eight-week annual cap still applies to parole.

If you are the victim or the victim's family

Victims and their families often learn of a convict's parole only when they see him in the neighbourhood. The police verification for parole is meant to take their safety into account, and the beat officer will usually ask whether there is any fear of trouble. If you have a real concern, such as threats made before or during the trial, say so to the SHO in writing and keep a copy, so it reaches the report that goes to the Home Department.

You can also write to the Home Department and the jail superintendent when you know an application is pending. If a writ petition is filed in the High Court, the court can be told of specific threats through the State's counsel, and it often adds a condition that the convict will not enter a particular locality or contact the family. Concrete facts carry weight here, as they do for the convict: a past complaint, a call record, a named incident.

Parole and furlough in Tihar are not a reward for the crime and do not reduce the sentence imposed by the court. If the convict breaks a condition while out, report it to the local police at once, because breach is a ground to cancel the release and refuse the next one.

Other routes for undertrials and convicts with pending appeals

An undertrial who needs to be at home for a family emergency should apply for interim bail to the trial court or the High Court. Our guide on interim bail for medical treatment in Delhi explains what courts expect, and for the prisoner's own illness or old age, see bail on health grounds.

A convict whose appeal is pending can ask the appellate court to suspend the sentence, which means release for the duration of the appeal. That is a judicial remedy and often a better one than repeated paroles, especially where the sentence is short and the appeal will take years.

A convict who has served a long sentence, especially a life term, may be eligible for premature release through the Sentence Review Board. A good parole and furlough record, with timely surrender every time, is one of the things the Board considers.

When Advocate B.K. Singh advises families of long-term convicts, he suggests keeping a single file of every parole and furlough order, with the release and surrender dates, from the very first one. Years later, that file is what answers the question every authority asks: has he come back on time?

What to do this week

Confirm the prisoner's status from the judgment and the jail. Ask the jail for the nominal roll and conduct report. Collect specific, recent proof of the reason for parole, and check whether any previous parole or furlough has used up the annual limit. Prepare the surety's identity and address papers so release is not held up once the order comes.

If an application was filed weeks ago and nothing has happened, or it was rejected on a vague police report, get a copy of the order and consider a writ petition. Our page on parole and furlough for Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini prisoners covers that route, and our guide to the release process from Tihar explains the bond and release paperwork.

For advice on the convict's papers or updates on the Delhi Prison Rules, you can contact Advocate B.K. Singh.