Supreme Court Asks For Details On Premature Release Of Life Convicts
Delhi, 5th January 2023: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday asked the Director General of Prisons, Uttar Pradesh, to personally file an affidavit in the matter of premature release of convicts in the state. SC has sought details of steps taken so far to give the benefit of immunity to convicts in UP. Passing a series of directions, a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud asked the state to inform how many convicts in each district are eligible for premature release.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and DY Chandrachud asked for information on these convicts and their release. The top court also sought details of pending cases of exemption with the state authorities and the time by which these cases would be considered.
Issuing notice to the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority, the bench ordered that the Director General of Prisons shall file his affidavit giving the necessary information within three weeks. The court also appointed advocate Rishi Malhotra as amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist it.
In the decision of a case related to this, the apex court had issued several directions affecting the release of about 500 convicts serving life imprisonment in Uttar Pradesh. The judgment had said that all cases of premature release of life convicts would be considered as per the state’s August 2018 policy. The top court had said that there was no need for the convicts to submit applications for premature release, and their cases would be considered by the prison authorities on their own.
The judgment said that the District Legal Services Authority should take necessary steps for the release of deserving convicts and in cases where reports have been submitted, the concerned authorities should deal with the same within a month. It had said that premature release of all eligible life convicts should be considered within four months.
