Times of India | 1 week ago | 13-05-2022 | 01:09 am
Panaji: Initiating major jail reforms, the state government has empowered the state sentence review board to prematurely release prisoners serving life imprisonment at an appropriate time. The state government framed the general guidelines for the board to consider the cases for the premature release of life convicts. As per the general guidelines, every convicted prisoner, whether male or female, undergoing life sentence and covered under provision of Section 433-A of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, shall be eligible to be considered for premature release from prison after serving the sentence of 14 years of actual imprisonment i.e without remission. “However, completion of 14 years in prison by itself would not entitle a life convict for automatic release from the prison and the state sentence review board will have the discretion to release a convict, at an appropriate time in all cases considering the circumstance in which the crime was committed and other relevant factors,” the guidelines said. The board will consider factors like, whether the convict has lost his potential for committing crime considering his overall conduct in jail during the 14 years of actual incarceration, the possibility of reclaiming the convict as a useful member of society, and socio-economic condition of the convict’s family. “These guidelines are for the guidance of the state sentence review board to arrive at a logical decision in premature release of prisoners undergoing life sentence from time-to-time,” undersecretary (home) Pritidas Gaonkar said. The home department said that the period of imprisonment is 18 years for offences relating to crime by women where the convict has no criminal history and has committed the murder in an individual capacity without premeditation. In the case of premeditated crime by an individual or by a gang, it is 20 years. In case of murders arising out of land dispute, family feuds, family prestige and superstition, 20 years for an offence committed in individual capacity without premeditation and 22 years for those convicts who committed crime with premeditation, either individually or as a gang,
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