The Hindu : National : Curbs on releasing life convicts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006

National

National

Curbs on releasing life convicts

Staff Reporter

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday restrained the committee appointed by the Government for the earlier release of prisoners from considering the cases in which the life convicts had not completed 14 years of imprisonment until further orders from the court. The Bench comprising Justice J. B. Koshy and Justice K. Padmanabhan Nair, however, said that the order would not be applicable to very special cases.

The direction was issued when K.B. Sureshkumar, amicus curiae in the case relating to the indiscriminate granting of parole, said despite the court directives, the committee was granting of remission to life convicts who had not completed 14 years of imprisonment.

The Bench felt that the committee could not consider remission who had not completed 14 years. The Supreme Court had made it clear in the Maru Ram case. In fact, the Government could grant remission in exceptional cases. But that should be in very rare cases. The grant of remission to life convicts was against the provision of the Constitution, Indian Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

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