Madras HC: Life Convicts Can Avail 40-Day Annual Leave in Two Instalments

The Madras High Court has ruled that life convicts can avail of their 40 days of annual leave in two separate instalments. A Division Bench comprising Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Sunder Mohan held that prison authorities cannot compel convicts to utilize the entitled annual leave only once in a calendar year.

The judgment clarifies the operational flexibility available to incarcerated individuals, establishing that prison administrations must permit prisoners to split the statutory leave period rather than forcing them to claim the entire quota at one time.