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Mahesh

20/08/22 12:40 PM IST

All 11 life imprisonment convicts released under Gujarat government's remission policy

In News 
  • The Gujarat government  released all 11 convicts who were serving life imprisonment in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case from Godhra jail giving them the benefit of the remission policy.
Remission 
  • In remission, the nature of the sentence is remained untouched, while the duration is reduced i.e. the rest of the sentence need not be undergone.
  • For example, if a person is sentenced to a term of 20 years, his sentence is now reduced to 15 years.
Rules of Remission 
  • Supreme Court of India had earlier ruled that the remission question, in this case, would be governed by the remission policy of 1992 that was in force at the time of conviction which did not exclude those convicted of rape from executive remission.
  • State governments have laid down behaviour/activities that can earn prisoners a certain amount of days as remission, which is then deducted from their sentence.
  • The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is clear that life convicts have to undergo a minimum of 14 years of actual imprisonment before they can be considered for remission/premature release.
  • But in this case, the term of imprisonment of all 11 men was more than 15 years and therefore, the calculation of 14 years is irrelevant.
Powers of Governor 
  • State governments have also developed premature release rules that include the power to give effect to the Governor’s powers of remission under Article 161 of the Constitution.
  • Those powers are not governed by the CrPC and are often used to bypass the minimum 14 years of actual imprisonment requirement in the CrPC.
  • Article 161- It deals with the Pardoning Power of the Governor.
  • The Governor can grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishments or suspend, remit and commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.
Source- Indian Express 

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