What is the Difference between 'Parole' and 'Furlough'?

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Today, I will talk about the case of State of Gujarat and Another v. Narayan, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 949, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court discussed the differences between ‘parole’ and ‘furlough’. We hear these terms quite often, but their meaning is unclear to many.

 

GENERAL MEANING

 

Let us discuss the plain meaning of ‘parole’ and ‘furlough’. ‘Parole’ has been defined as “the release of a prisoner from imprisonment before the full sentence has been served”. “Parole is usually granted for good behaviour on the condition that the parolee regularly report to a supervising officer for a specified period.” Further, “the essence of parole is release from prison, before completion of the sentence, on condition that the prisoner abide by certain rules during the balance of the sentence.”

 

Whereas ‘Furlough’ is generally understood as “a brief release from prison.” ‘The word ‘Furlough’ also has connotation in service jurisprudence wherein it means “a leave of absence from military or other employment duty.” However, on the present show, we will only be concerned with ‘furlough’ in relation to prisons.

 

In order to understand more, let us go through the summary of the differences between ‘parole’ and ‘furlough’ as laid down by the Court.

 

OBSERVATIONS BY THE COURT

 

(a) Both parole and furlough are conditional releases and envisage short term temporary releases from custody.

 

(b) Parole is generally granted in case of short-term imprisonment whereas furlough is generally granted in case of long-term imprisonment.

 

(c) Duration of parole generally extends to one month whereas in the case of furlough it extends to fourteen days maximum. However, all this depends upon the concerned rules.

 

(d) Parole is granted for the prisoner to meet a specific exigency; however, generally speaking, a prisoner is entitled to apply for furlough only once he has served the minimum years of sentence in terms of the concerned rules.

 

(e) The grant of furlough is to break the monotony of imprisonment and to enable the convict to maintain continuity with family life and integration with society.

 

(f) The term of imprisonment is not included in the computation of the term of parole, whereas it is vice versa in furlough and the prisoner is eligible to have the period of release counted towards the total period of his sentence undergone by him.

 

(g) Parole can be granted number of times whereas there is limitation in the case of furlough.

 

(h) Although furlough can be claimed without a reason, the prisoner does not have an absolute legal right to claim furlough.

 

(i) Since furlough is not granted for any particular reason, it can be denied in the interest of the society. The grant of furlough must be balanced against the public interest and can be refused to certain categories of prisoners.

 

WORD OF CAUTION

 

Thus, I hope that the difference between ‘parole’ and ‘furlough’ is clear by now. It is also to be noted that the differences just stated are general differences between the two. And both parole and furlough are governed by various local laws such as State Jail Manuals, concerned Criminal Procedure Rules, local statutes etc. Hence, these differences are only general in nature. For more specific differences in relation to a particular jurisdiction of a particular state, concerned laws will have to be looked into.