Home Department on Thursday authorised Director General of Police (Prisons) Jammu and Kashmir to grant special parole for eight weeks to prisoners. “DGP (Prisons) being the competent authority under Jammu and Kashmir Suspension of Sentence Rule, 2020 notified vide SO -114 of March 29, 2020, to grant special parole for eight weeks, extendable for another eight weeks if the lockdown by the Government continues, subject to good conduct,” reads an order by Special Secretary, Home Department, Shakeel Ur Rehman. As per the order, all those who have been convicted in one case only and have spent more than 10 years (eight years in case of women) in jail except those involved in militancy related cases, convicted for intermediate or large quantity recovery under NDPS Act or convicted under POCSO Act or convicted for an offence against women or convicted for offence of acid attack or foreign nationals. “All those who have been sentenced to imprisonment for three years with or without fine and the conviction have been upheld by the Appellate Court but revision against the judgement by Appellate Court is pending before the High Court,” according to the Home Department. All those who have completed their sentences but are still in prison due to non-payment of fine, and matter pertaining to the prisoners with advanced age, suffering from any illness may be examined on case to case bases.
“If the benefit of parole earlier extended, to any prisoner shall not be in impediment to the grant of special parole,” reads the order.