1,500 convicted & 350 in remand to get parole in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as 1,500 convicted prisoners and 350 others in remand in state prisons will be released by the government, on parole, in the wake of Covid-19 spread in the state.
The decision has been taken on the basis of a Supreme Court order, to reduce congestion in the prisons. While the convicted prisoners who are not involved in grave crimes will be given parole of 90 days, the remand prisoners who are not habitual offenders -- and have only one case against them and have committed a crime that will be awarded a penalty of fewer than seven years -- will be given an interim bail on personal bond.
A high-powered committee consisting of high court judge C T Ravikumar, additional chief secretary (home and vigilance) T K Jose and DGP and director of prisons and correctional services Rishiraj Singh arrived at the decision.
In addition to the convicted prisoners and remand prisoners falling in the aforementioned categories, those who have already been sanctioned parole, and male prisoners above 60 years and female prisoners above 50 years who have not been convicted of treason or drug cases, also will be granted parole.
Rishiraj Singh has instructed the authorities of all the prisons across the state to implement the decision of the committee at the earliest.
The government had, on May 5, decided to grant two-week parole to all the prisoners. It was then decided that all those prisoners who are eligible for parole in 2021 and those who are willing to go on parole will be granted parole. However, the prisoners who are in the restricted category under rule 397 (L) of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules, 2014, will not be eligible for parole. Those who fall in the categories will enjoy the benefits of the Supreme Court’s latest decision on May 7.