Union Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh has urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to chart out a programme to release special category of prisoners on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.
Singh in a letter to Patnaik has said the Government of India has decided to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi from October 2, 2018 to October 2, 2020.
On the occasion, giving special remission to prisoners during the commemoration would befit the occasion and act as homage to the father of nation, for the humanitarian values the Mahatma stood for, said Singh.
He has said special remission to specific categories of prisoners may be given and they may be released in three phases, i.e., October 2, 2018, April 6, 2019 and October 2, 2019. While October 2 is the Gandhi’s birth anniversary, April 6 is the anniversary of the Dandi March of the nation’s freedom struggle.
After the Union Cabinet’s decision in this regard, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has brought out an advisory for the State Governments stipulating which categories of prisoners would be given special remission.
Women and transgender convicts of 55 years’ age and above, who have completed 50 per cent of their actual sentence period, male convicts of 60 years and above, who have completed 50 per cent of their actual sentence period will be included in the special remission.
Physically challenged and disabled convicts with 70 per cent disability and more, who have completed 50 per cent of their actual sentence period, terminally ill convicts, convicted persons, who have completed two third of their actual sentence period will be considered for the release.
The special remission will, however, not be given to the prisoners, who have been convicted for an offence for which sentence is sentence of death or where death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.
Secondly, in cases of convicts for the offence for which punishment of life imprisonment has been prescribed as one of the punishments, cases of convicts involved in serious and heinous crimes like dowry death, rape and human trafficking will not be included in the special remission.
Anybody convicted under POTA, UAPA, TADA, FICN, POCSO, PMlA, FEMA, NDPS and Prevention of Corruption Act would not be given special remission, said Singh in his letter.
The foreign national convicts would be released with concurrence of the Ministry of External Affairs, pointed out the Union Minister.
The MHA has suggested that a detailed list of the convicts be prepared by a State level Committee headed by the ACS Home for giving special remission during the anniversary period.
The committee would consider and scrutinise all cases keeping in view the prescribed conditions and make recommendations to the State Government for approval.
While releasing the prisoners, the State prison authorities would organise special functions based on teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and gift books relating to the Father of the Nation to those convicts, officials said.