Khan v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 234 Conn. App. 851

Syllabus

The petitioner appealed, following the denial of his petition for certification to appeal, from the habeas court's judgment rejecting an amended petition and dismissing, on its own motion, his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly dismissed his habeas action on the basis that his original petition failed to state a claim on which habeas relief could be granted. Held: The habeas court abused its discretion in denying the petition for certifica- tion to appeal, as the court's improper dismissal of the petitioner's habeas action on its own motion necessarily meant that the underlying claim raised in the petition for certification was debatable among jurists of reason, a court could resolve the issue in a different manner, or the question was adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further. The habeas court improperly rejected the petitioner's amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus and, therefore, improperly dismissed the habeas action on the basis of the original petition, as the amended petition was filed as of right before the return date, and, pursuant to the plain and unambiguous language of the rule of practice (§ 23-32) governing amend- ments in habeas actions, the court did not have the discretion to reject it, and, thus, the amended petition became the operative petition, and, after its filing, the original petition could no longer serve as a basis for the court to render a judgment of dismissal. Argued April 14—officially released September 9, 2025