Anna’s 113th birth anniv: Guidelines issued for release of 700 life convicts

Among other conditions for release, the prisoner’s behaviour should be satisfactory, the GO noted. Prisoners convicted for offences of rape, forgery, robbery, dacoity and terrorist crimes are not eligible for release even if they had completed 10 years of jail term.

Those who had committed offences against the State, offences under sections 153-A, 153-AA and 153-B of IPC, escape or attempting to escape from lawful custody, forgery /counterfeiting, cruelty against women/ dowry death, economic offences, black-marketing, smuggling misuse of power and authority are also not eligible for release.

Those undergoing imprisonment for selling illicit arrack mixed with poisonous substances, habitual forest offenders who are responsible for disturbing the ecological balance will not be eligible for premature release.

Prisoners convicted for more than one murder and life sentences ordered to run concurrently, violence on a communal/religious basis, prisoners convicted and sentenced under the following Central Acts of offences, like the Prevention of Corruption Act, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Drugs (Control) Act, Dangerous Drugs Act, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, prisoners who have pending cases (other than whose criminal appeals pending against their conviction) will not be eligible for release even after 10 years of jail term.

Apart from that, prisoners will be released only there is safety for the prisoner’s life after the release and he/she will be accepted by the family members besides there is no threat to the life of family members by the prisoner if released.

To examine the premature release of the life convict prisoners under this scheme, the government has constituted three committees to look into files on a case-to-case basis, a senior jail officer noted.