Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
(1) Premature release is a privilege granted to the convicted prisoners by the Government. It is subject to the discretion of the competent authority and cannot be claimed as a matter of right. The Government in the exercise of its executive power of remission is to consider each case separately keeping in view various factors including public order, peace and tranquility etc. having bearing on the same. The decision to approve, reject or defer premature release is to be guided by considerations balancing the needs of the prisoner vis-à-vis those of the society and an appraisal of the social hazards of such premature release. The right to approve, reject or defer premature release is reserved with the Government, while at the same time, a duty is cast upon the competent authority to pass speaking order while considering each case. (2) No case for premature release of a convicted prisoner shall be considered before the expiry of the minimum sentence as prescribed below:- 1 2 3 Category Nature of offence and other factors Premature Release Case when considered (a) Convicts, whose death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment, or those who have been imprisoned for life having committed a heinous crime such as: (i) Murder with rape/unnatural offences; (ii) Murder and rape/unnatural offence of different persons in the same case; (iii) Gang rape; (iv) Penetrative sexual assault/ aggravated penetrative sexual assault against a child below twelve years of age; (i) Male convicts -On completion of twenty years actual sentence including under trial period, provided that the total period of such sentence including remission is not less than twenty-five years; (ii) Female convicts - On completion of 14 Years actual sentence including 1254 HARYANA GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA.), DEC. 30, 2022 (PAUS. 9, 1944 SAKA) (v) Murder with the intention to collect ransom/robbery/dacoity/kidnapping/abduction; (vi) Use of explosives for mass killing or attacking the public or separate murder during communal/caste riots or Naxalites; (vii) Murder of a Judicial Officer, Prison Officer, Prosecutor or a Police Officer; (viii) Murder of a public servant during the discharge of his official duties; (ix) Murder of an elected representative in connection with the discharge of his functions; (x) Murder of a witness in connection with his testimony in any case; (xi) Offences punishable with a life sentence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (Central Act 37 of 1967); (xii) Murder of more than two persons in one case; (xiii) Second conviction for murder; (xiv) Serial killing; (xv) Murder while undergoing life sentence; (xvi) Murder with any offence under TADA Act, 1987 (Central Act 28 of 1987); (xvii) Murder of a child under the age of fourteen years; (xviii) Murder on contract/hired basis; (xix) Murder or voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid; (xx) Causing death or grievous hurt in lurking house- tress pass or lurking house-breaking; (xxi) Persistent bad conduct in prison; (xxii) A convict involved in more than five criminal cases; (xxiii) Convicts who cannot for some definite reason be prematurely released without danger to public order and safety; (xxiv) Any other crime that the State Level Committee considers to be ‘heinous’ for reasons to be recorded in writing. under trial period, provided that the total period of such sentence including remission is not less than twenty years; (b) Convicts who are not covered under category (a) above and have been imprisoned for life having committed any crime under the Indian Penal Code or any other law punishable with a death sentence, or who are sentenced for life having committed a crime such as: (i) Causing dowry death; or (ii) Any other crime that the State Level Committee considers to be ‘heinous’ under this sub-rule for reasons to be recorded in writing; or (iii) Sedition (i) Male convicts - On completion of fourteen years actual sentence including under trial period, provided that the total period of such sentence including remission is not less than twenty years; (ii) Female convicts - On completion of twelve years actual sentence including under trial period, provided that the total period of such sentence including remission is not less than sixteen years; HARYANA GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA.), DEC. 30, 2022 (PAUS. 9, 1944 SAKA) 1255 (c) Convicts who are not covered in categories (a)and (b) above and have been imprisoned for life sentence having committed a crime which is defined in Indian Penal Code or any other law as punishable with life Imprisonment, but not with a death sentence. On completion of ten years actual sentence including under trial period, provided that the total period of such sentence including remission is not less than fourteen years; (d) Convicts who suffer from a terminal disease which is likely to result in death in the near future. On the report of a Board of Doctors of an authorized Medical Institution. (e) Specially challenged convicts On completion of six years in the case of a life convict and 50% of the sentence in all other cases, including the under trial period and excluding the period of parole or furlough, provided that the disability has developed only after confinement in the prison and is of such a nature as to render the convicted prisoner totally incapable of committing any offence and also rendering him incapable of looking after himself in the prison as certified by of a Board of Doctors of an authorized Medical Institution; (f) Old Age convicts (seventy-five years or above in case of male convicts and 70 Years or above in case of female convicts) On completion of seven years in the case of a life convict and 2/3rd of the sentence in all other cases, including the undertrial period and excluding the period of parole or furlough, subject to ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ conduct: Provided that the case of premature release of a convict who has overstayed from parole or furlough, will be considered after a further period as mentioned below, beyond the period prescribed hereinabove, subject to his good conduct during the extended period:- Overstay of more than ten Days up to six months Three months Overstay of above six months up to one year Six months Overstay of above one year up to three years One year Overstay of above three years One year and six months: Provided further that the case of premature release of a convict, whose conduct during the confinement in prison or temporary release in the last five years prior to the date of consideration for premature release has been categorized as ‘not satisfactory’ or ‘bad’, shall be deferred for consideration for a further period of upto two years: 1256 HARYANA GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA.), DEC. 30, 2022 (PAUS. 9, 1944 SAKA) Provided further that the case of premature release of a convict whose conduct during the confinement in prison or temporary release in the last five years prior to the date of consideration for premature release has been categorized as ‘persistently bad’, shall be considered under clause (xxi) of the category (a) in case the life convict is not already covered under the same. However, if he is already covered under clause (xxi) of the category (a), his case for premature release shall not be considered before a further period upto five years beyond the completion of the required minimum sentence: Provided further that no benefit of remission shall be granted during such period of deferment. EXPLANATION- The period mentioned hereinabove is the minimum length of sentence a convicted prisoner is required to undergo before his case for premature release can be considered. The competent authority may approve, reject or defer the case for any length of time for reasons to be recorded in writing. A case once deferred shall be considered only after the expiry of the period of such deferment. The order of deferment shall make a reference to the period for which it has been deferred. The case for premature release of a convict can be deferred for a maximum of two times, provided that any deferment on the ground of non-completion of the minimum sentence, actual or total, as provided hereinabove shall not be counted. Premature release shall neither be claimed nor allowed solely on the ground that the case has been deferred in the past. (3) In addition to the nature of the crime, the age and gender of the convicted prisoner, his conduct during the last five years prior to the date of consideration for premature release, capacity to commit the crime again, social impact of his release, safety of the victim and the witnesses shall be relevant factors amongst others in deciding the case for premature release: Provided that if any discrepancy is found in the age of a convict in the warrant or the copy of the judgment, proof of age like matriculation certificate, birth certificate, or school leaving certificate shall be obtained and got verified from the authority concerned. If any convict is unable to produce the proof of age, he may be examined by a Board of Doctors of an authorized medical institution. It shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent concerned to arrange for the medical examination: Provided further that all cases of pre-mature release under these rules shall be considered subject to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) and any convict so released shall be liable to be re-called by the competent authority in case any irregularity, mistake or deficiency is found in any respect at a later stage. (4) The conduct of a convict shall be categorized as under, - (a) ‘good’ if he has not been punished for any prison offence or for violating any conditions of temporary release; (b) ‘satisfactory’ if he has been punished with only one minor punishment for any prison offence or for violating conditions of temporary release during the last five years prior to the date of consideration for premature release; (c) ‘not Satisfactory’ if he has been punished with one major punishment or more than one minor punishment for any prison offence or for violating conditions of temporary release during the last five years prior to the date of consideration for premature release; (d) ‘bad’ if he has been punished with two major punishments or more than two minor punishments for any prison offence or for violating conditions of temporary release during the last five years prior to the date of consideration for premature release; or (e) ‘persistently Bad’ if he has been punished with more than two major punishments or more than three minor punishments for any prison offence or for violating conditions of temporary release during the last five years prior to the date of consideration for premature release, or who has been convicted for any criminal offence committed during the period of confinement in prison or temporary release. HARYANA GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA.), DEC. 30, 2022 (PAUS. 9, 1944 SAKA) 1257 (5) Medical re-examination of a convict released on the ground of terminal disease shall be conducted every six months and if the convict is not found to be suffering from such disease any longer and is medically fit, he shall be re-admitted in the prison to undergo the unexpired portion of his sentence. (6) The formula for calculating the period of sentence undergone shall be as follows: A person convicted and sentenced for life imprisonment on the 21st January, 2006 who has been in custody since the 1st January, 2004. During the above-said sentence period, he had availed parole for fourteen months and overstayed parole for ten days. Then on the 31st December, 2017, his actual sentence undergone will be twelve years nine months, and twenty days. If during this period he has earned six years ten months twenty days total remission, his total sentence period will be calculated for example i.e. as under: Y M D Under Trial Period 02 00 20 Conviction Period 11 11 10 Less parole period 01 02 00 Less overstay period 00 00 10 (parole/furlough) Actual Sentence undergone 12 09 20 Add remission earned 06 10 20 Total sentence undergone 19 08 10 (7) Remissions granted under these rules, excluding those granted by the Government under statutory provisions, shall not exceed one-fourth of the total sentence: Provided that the total remission granted by all authorities shall not exceed one-third of the total sentence. (8) The cases for premature release shall be decided as per the recommendation of a State level committee constituted by the Government from time to time. (9) The premature release case of a convict who has been sentenced to undergo life imprisonment in more than one case shall be considered after completion of the requisite sentences in all the cases. Example.- A convict has been sentenced to undergo life imprisonment in case “A” on the 1st January, 2019 and case “B” on the 1st January, 2022, his case for premature release shall be considered only when he completes the requisite minimum sentence in both cases, i.e. case “A” and case “B” as per sub-rule (2) above. NOTE.- Upon conviction, every convict sentenced to life imprisonment shall be informed regarding the relevant policy of premature release or as the case may be the relevant rule applicable to him alongwith minimum period of actual and total imprisonment that he has to undergo before his case for premature release may be considered. The Superintendent shall personally ensure that cases for premature release shall be sent after completion of the minimum prescribed period. Any case put up before completion of the requisite sentence shall be viewed seriously. (10) Steps for processing the application for premature release shall be as under, namely: - (a) The Superintendent shall, at an interval of every four months i.e. in January, May and September, make list of all convicts who are eligible for consideration for premature release in the next four months. The list will be made as per the eligibility criteria laid down in these rules. The Superintendent shall send a copy of the list so prepared to the District Legal Services Authority concerned. The District Legal Services Authority shall assist in preparing applications to be made by such eligible convicts. The District Legal Services Authority shall also organize legal awareness programmes in prisons through its Prison Legal Services clinics, with the aim to make the prisoners aware about the premature release policy and procedures. 1258 HARYANA GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA.), DEC. 30, 2022 (PAUS. 9, 1944 SAKA) (b) The Superintendent shall collect all requisite documents or reports within a maximum period of three months so that the file is complete for forwarding the same to the State Level Committee. The premature release case shall be considered within a fixed time, irrespective of whether appeal by such convicted prisoner is pending or not, if otherwise he is eligible. The Superintendent shall forward the case to the Director General within the stipulated time, even in cases where in the collection of documents is incomplete. In such cases, the Director General shall collect the remaining documents. In no case, the file shall be returned to the Superintendent citing incomplete documentation as a reason. The Director General shall forward the proposal to the State Level Committee within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the proposal. Assistance of the District Legal Services Authority concerned may be sought for the collection of any remaining documents. (c) The State Level Committee shall make its recommendation to the Government within three months of the receipt of the documents. The State Level Committee may meet once in every quarter to ensure timely decision on premature release applications. (d) The order passed by the Government should be uploaded on the website. A copy may also be given to the convict through the Superintendent. The District Legal Services Authority shall advise and provide legal assistance, if required and admissible, to the convict, if there is a possibility of legal challenge to the rejection of the premature release application. NOTE.- Cases for premature release which are otherwise barred by section 433A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) shall be processed by the Government under article 161 of the Constitution of India on the recommendation of the State Level Committee. (11) The powers of premature release of convicts whose cases are covered under section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) shall be exercised by the Government in consultation with the Central Government. (12) Authorized Medical Institution for the purpose of this rule shall include AIIMS New Delhi, PGIMS Rohtak, PGIMER Chandigarh, BPS Medical College, KhanpurKalan (Sonipat), Government Medical College, Nalhar (Nuh), Maharaja Aggrasen Medical College, Agroha (Hisar), or any other Medical Institution designated by the Government for the purpose. (13) From the date of notification of these rules, all premature release cases of prisoners who are convicted by the courts having jurisdiction within the State of Haryana before or on or after the date of notification of these rules. HARYANA GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA.), DEC. 30, 2022 (PAUS. 9, 1944 SAKA) 1259 Appeals and Revisions facilities to the prisoners. CHAPTER 13 APPEALS, REVISIONS, PETITIONS, INTERVIEWS, AND COMMUNICATIONS