Tamil Nadu: Lost file kept him in jail for 10 more years

CHENNAI: K Jayapaul, a convict serving a life sentence in the central prison here, lost a good 10 years of freedom as the prison authorities did not maintain proper records. The authorities even shrugged off a Madras high court order to release him seven months ago. He had no option but to remain in jail until Wednesday when he finally walked free.


Jayapaul was one of the prisoners eligible for premature release as per a government order dated September 11, 2008. He could have been the 1,406th inmate to be set free on the birth centenary of former chief minister Annadurai. But the prison administration did not take into account 15 months of his imprisonment between May 20, 1988 and August 18, 1989, stating non-availability of the documents.

‘Court had faxed release order last year, but dad was told to be patient’

Going by the GO (MS) no 1155 home (prison – IV) department, convicts who completed seven years of imprisonment as on September 15, 2008 were eligible for premature release. However, the prison authorities did not include Jayapaul’s name in the list stating that the period of incarceration suffered by the detenu was 6 years, six months and seven days.

Jayapaul was sentenced to life imprisonment on August 18, 1989 in connection with a murder case. Ahead of the judgment, he was lodged in the central prison for 15 months.

“When I asked the prison authorities why my name was not included in the list of eligible convicts, they told me that I fell short by six months as per the records available with them. They did not take the period of my imprisonment as remand convict into account,” said Jayapaul.

He was shifted to the Vellore Central Prison for men after the verdict. However, the prison authorities in the Chennai Central Prison did not hand over the file regarding my earlier imprisonment period. “I was shifted back to central prison here in Chennai in November 2008. Since then, I have been waging a legal battle for my freedom,” he said.

Replying to Jayapaul’s RTI queries, the prison authority said the document pertaining to his imprisonment as a remand prisoner was destroyed in the arson that took place on November 17, 1999.

The Tamil Nadu state level services authority also gave the same reply to the RTI application, while police attached to the R3 Ashok Nagar station said no documents were available with them.

Jayapaul’s son Mahidhar said the high court passed an order on November 22 last year directing the prison department to release his father immediately.

“The court also faxed the order to the prison superintendent. But they did not release my father and asked him to be patient as he will be released during the MGR birth centenary,” said Mahidhar, expressing displeasure over the lethargic approach of the prison department for separating his father from the family all these years. This should never happen again to anyone, he said.