NEW DELHI: A good news is in offing for thousands of women and transgender convicts above the age of 50 as the government intends to do a phased commutation of their sentence, subject to their behaviour in jails, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
The scheme will also cover male prisoners above the age of 60 and physically challenged convicts who have completed more than half of their total sentence. Poor or indigent prisoners who have completed their sentence but are still in jails due to non-payment of fines imposed on them will be benefitted too by way of waiving off the fines.
The scheme, the Home Ministry said, does not apply to those prisoners who were convicted with death sentence, life imprisonment, rape, terror charges, dowry deaths and money laundering cases. According to a 2020 official estimate, jails across India continued to remain overcrowded, lodging about 4.78 lakh prisoners against an actual capacity of 4.03 lakh. Of the total prisoners, nearly a lakh are women. As per a Home Ministry communication to all states and Union Territories, those prisoners who fulfil the eligibility criteria will be released in three phases -- August 15, 2022, January 26, 2023 and August 15, 2023.
The eligibility criteria for prisoners to be considered for the remission includes those convicts who have consistently maintained good conduct during their term in prisons especially those with no punishment during the sentencing period in the last three years.
The Home Ministry conveyed to the states and UTs that women and transgender convicts of 50 years of age and above, male convicts of 60 years of age and above, physically challenged and disabled convicts with 70 per cent disability and more, who have completed 50 per cent of their total sentence can be released to commenorate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
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