The Punjab government today amended its premature release policy to allow early release of mentally incapacitated or terminally ill life convicts, in line with the directives of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The state Cabinet, at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, gave the go-ahead to the necessary amendments, in pursuance of the court's order, an official spokesperson said.
The changes would enable premature release of life convicts who are mentally incapacitated or who are suffering from terminally ill disease like cancer, suffering from full blown aids or failure of both the kidneys, he said.
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The mentally incapacitated or seriously ill prisoners would be eligible for consideration for premature release after completion of 10 years of imprisonment, with or without remission, the spokesperson said.
Timelines have also been provided for consideration of petitions of the prisoners for pre-release at every level in the decision-making process, he added.
During a discussion on the subject, the Cabinet sought a report from the authorities concerned on prisoners who continue to be lodged in state prisons even after having completed their sentence, the spokesperson said.
The Cabinet also decided that the state government should take up with the Centre the issue of the blacklisted Punjabis and seek removal of their names from the list, he said.
For this purpose, the Cabinet sought a list of all such Punjabis against whom cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and other similar laws were registered and who were now living in other countries as they were not allowed to come to India, he added.
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