Relief for prisoners who have completed more than 14 years in jail and have good prison record
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BENGALURU: Following the July 23 Supreme Court order, which restored to State governments after a blanket ban for a year their discretion (with riders) to grant liberty to life convicts there's hope for freedom at last for over 300 prisoners, who have been languishing in various prisons across the State for close to 20 years now.
The Prisons Department, which in September last year had sent to the government a list of 260 life convicts, whose names were cleared by the advisory boards and the Department after careful scrutiny may add another 80 to 100 names to the list of "eligible" prisoners, who have completed more than 14 years with remission in the prison; are not life convicts; have not been tried under Central laws such as Terrorist & Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) or by a Central agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and have a record of good behaviour during the prison term.
"We will have to re-examine the list, because it is one year old, to make sure that the prisoners, who were recommended for premature release meet the criteria laid down by the Supreme Court. We may add 80 to 100 names to the list after careful scrutiny. We are yet to receive the Court order," said Additional Director General of Police & Inspector General of Prisons, Kamal Pant.
The State government had last year filed an appeal in the Supreme Court to vacate the July 2014 stay order on the premature release of life convicts and allow the government to release the prisoners, who have completed more than 14 years in prison and have been cleared for release by the advisory committees and Prison Department. The State government had set up advisory boards at all the eight Central Prisons in Karnataka to screen and finalise the names of life convicts, who have spent a prison sentence of more than 14 years with remission.
The 260 life convicts reportedly have a clean record post conviction. The Supreme Court, while hearing the Centre's petition, which challenged the Tamil Nadu government's decision to release the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case after cutting their prison terms short, had on July 9 directed the states not to release life convicts prematurely, while using their power of remission under sections 432, 433 of Criminal Procedure Code.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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