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New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday gave the “last and final opportunity” to five states – Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal – to fully implement their policies on premature release of convicts.
A division bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and Satish Chandra Sharma, hearing the suo motu case titled ‘In Re: Policy Strategy for Grant of Bail’, which examines the systemic issues related to bail and remission policies across the country, gave two months’ time to the convict states to ensure “full and complete compliance” of its earlier directions.
Taking note of the submissions of amicus curiae Liz Mathew, the top court said that five states have “not yet adopted and implemented the draft (exemption) policy and rules, including substantial amendments to give effect to the earlier directions”.
A bench led by Justice Sundaresh recorded the submissions made by the state governments that the necessary steps would be completed within two months.
Accepting the request for additional time, it said: “Accordingly, as a last and final opportunity, we grant two months time to the states of Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to ensure full and complete compliance from the date of this order.”
The top court took note of Kerala’s partial compliance and gave it four months to make legislative amendments to give reasons while rejecting the premature release plea.
It also stressed the need for timely consideration of remission cases, noting that state governments should undertake this exercise “at least six months before the convict’s eligibility so as to avoid unwanted time spent through imprisonment even after a convict becomes eligible for premature release”.
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court accepted the suggestion of the amicus that the High Courts should monitor the progress of implementation. “We request the Honorable Chief Justices of the concerned High Courts to file a suo motu writ petition and thereafter, a Division Bench will be constituted to monitor and supervise the implementation of the remission and premature release policies of the respective states,” it said.
–IANS
PDS/DPB