Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has made amendments to its policy to allow remission of sentence to convicts facing life term with ease and specifying more important days, including International Women’s Day ( March 8) and International Yoga Day ( June 21) for their release from jails.
The amended policy, released on July 28, has also included World Health Day (April 7), Gandhi Jayanti (October 2), Republic Day and Independence Day as days for prisoners’ release.
In recent years, the state government has been releasing the inmates on important days like anniversary of Dandi March (April 6), birth anniversary of Dr Sarvpalli Radhakrishnan (September 5), Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti etc but the policy released in 2018 mentioned only the Republic Day as days for their release.
“Amendments have been made to the policy to have clear cut provisions for expeditious decision-making. Both Governor Anandiben Patel and chief minister Yogi Adityanath wanted special provisions for women. Norms have also been eased for release of those suffering from serious ailments,” said Avnish Awasthi, additional chief secretary, home and prisons department.
Uttar Pradesh has 71 jails that remain overcrowded with 113691 inmates, nearly double the capacity to house 60,805 prisoners. The policy will obviously help in easing overcrowding in jails. The state government has released 2572 prisoners from jails in the past three years. These include 1992 inmates released in 2019 and 394 and 186 prisoners freed in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
{{/usCountry}}Uttar Pradesh has 71 jails that remain overcrowded with 113691 inmates, nearly double the capacity to house 60,805 prisoners. The policy will obviously help in easing overcrowding in jails. The state government has released 2572 prisoners from jails in the past three years. These include 1992 inmates released in 2019 and 394 and 186 prisoners freed in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
{{/usCountry}}“Easing of norms is a welcome move. Those who have reformed themselves in prisons should be allowed to go back to society and make their contribution. The state government has powers, and it should liberally use these powers to free those who it feels will not commit a crime when released from prison,” said CB Pandey, former legal advisor to Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
Under the amended policy, all the life term convicts suffering from 13 listed serious ailments will be considered for early release if their crime does not fall in listed categories of serious crime. Ailments listed in the policy include advanced bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis, incurable malignancy, incurable blood diseases, congestive heart failure, chronic epilepsy and mental degeneration, advanced leprosy with deformities and trophic ulcers, total blindness of both eyes, incurable paraplegias and hemiplegia, advanced Parkinsonism, brain tumour, incurable aneurysms, irreversible kidney failure and any other terminal disease.
It also provides for release of all male inmates who have completed 60 years of age and have completed a punishment of 16 years (without remission) and 20 years (with remission), if the crime committed by them is not covered in the list of serious crimes. The serious crimes’ list includes fleeing from jail or police custody, kidnapping for ransom, to make one handicapped for the purpose of begging, forcing women to marry, importing women, kidnapping of children of less than 10 year of age or committing crime against them or any other crime charged under Section 373 of the Indian penal Code (IPC).
A committee headed by additional chief secretary /principal secretary prisons would consider the recommendations/proposals for early release of inmates under provisions of the policy.