New Delhi, Aug. 31 -- Beginning its judgment with a prayer from the Rig Veda seeking forgiveness for past mistakes committed out of ignorance and thoughtlessness, the Delhi High Court on Monday invoked the words of Oscar Wilde, "No saint is without a past, no sinner is without a future" while emphasising that a person should not be defined by his worst mistakes but by his next choices.

The court, relying on the reformative philosophy of punishment, ordered the immediate release of a life convict who had spent more than 20 years in actual imprisonment after finding that authorities had mechanically rejected his plea for premature release.

Justice Girish Kathpalia said every darkness carries in it a hope for light and every light holds a ...