Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
Definitions - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- i) "After-care service" means a service or activity aimed at the rehabilitation of the released prisoner for enabling him to lead life as a dutiful citizen. ii) "Civil Prisoner" means any prisoner who is not committed to custody under a writ, warrant or order of any court or authority exercising criminal jurisdiction, or by the order of a court martial and who is not a detenue. iii) "Convict" means any prisoner under sentence of a Court exercising criminal jurisdiction or Court Martial. iv) "Correctional Service" means any service or programme aimed at the reformation and rehabilitation of an inmate and includes services related to the assessment, supervision, treatment, training, control and custody of an inmate. v) "Court" includes any officer lawfully exercising civil, criminal or revenue jurisdiction. vi) "Detenue" means any person detained in prison on the orders of a competent authority, under any law providing for preventive detention. vii) "Directorate" means the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services of the State. viii) "Family" means spouse, children, siblings, parents, grand-parents, grand-children and, in the context of transgender inmates, people related through the socio-religious family system. ix) "Foreign Prisoner" means any prisoner who is not a citizen of India. x) "Furlough" means short leave granted to a convict, after undergoing a prescribed period of sentence, as an incentive for maintaining good conduct in prison. xi) "Government" means the Government of the State of Meghalaya. xii) "Habitual Offender" means a person who, during any continuous period of five years, has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment on more than two occasions on account of any one or more of the offences committed on different occasions and not constituting parts of the same transaction; such sentence not having been reversed in appeal or review: PART-IV] THE GAZETTE OF MEGHALAYA (EXTRAORDINARY) APRIL 16, 2026 341 Provided that, in computing the continuous period of five years referred to above, any period spent in prison either under sentence of imprisonment or under detention shall not be taken into account. xiii) "Head of the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services" means an officer appointed by the Government to head the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services. xiv) "High-Risk Prisoner" means a prisoner with high propensity towards violence, escape, self-harm, disorderly behaviour, likely to create unrest in the prison and a threat to public order and includes those engaged in organised crime and terrorist activities. xv) "High Security Prison" means an independent self-sufficient prison complex with dynamic and strengthened security systems including provision for an independent Court complex, etc., to house convicted and under-trial inmates who need to be kept in a high security custody area, such as persons involved in terrorist activities, gangsters, dangerous prisoners, hardened criminals, habitual offenders, high-risk prisoners, etc. xvi) "History Ticket" means the ticket, either in physical or electronic form, exhibiting all relevant information in respect of a prisoner. xvii) "Inmate" means any person lawfully confined in a prison and correctional institution. xviii) "Institution" means a place where prisoners are lawfully confined. xix) "Institution for Young Offenders" means a prison for young prisoners established to ensure their care, welfare, rehabilitation and to provide an environment for education and training, conducive to their reformation. xx) "Medical Officer" in relation to prisons means a qualified Government medical practitioner deputed as Medical Officer of a prison. xxi) "Medical Subordinate Staff” means a qualified Medical Assistant, such as Pharmacist, Nurse, Laboratory Technician, etc., deputed to a prison. xxii) "Officer-in-charge of a prison" means an officer appointed by the competent authority to be in charge of the prison i.e., the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, etc. xxiii) "Open Correctional Institution" means a place for confinement of eligible prisoners on such conditions as may be prescribed under the rules, to provide them greater liberty outside a regular prison, for facilitating their rehabilitation after release. xxiv) "Parole" means temporary release of a convict for a short period of time to attend to familial and social obligations. xxv) "Prison" means any place used permanently or temporarily under general or special orders of the Government for the detention of prisoners and includes all lands and buildings appurtenant thereto, but does not include - (a) any place for the confinement of prisoners who are exclusively in the custody of the police; (b) any place specially appointed by the Government under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita; (c) any place which has been declared by the Government by a general or special order to be a subsidiary prison. xxvi) "Prison Officer" means an officer belonging to the Directorate and includes officers of other security forces or services deployed in the prison to assist the prison administration in providing safe custody and correctional services to the prisoners. PART-IV] THE GAZETTE OF MEGHALAYA (EXTRAORDINARY) APRIL 16, 2026 342 xxvii) "Prison Staff” means an employee appointed by the Directorate, other than a prison officer, who exercises powers or performs duties or functions related to the administration of this Act or as may be assigned by the Government. xxviii) "Prisoner" means a person committed to custody in a prison under the writ, warrant, order or sentence of a Court or a competent authority and includes a convicted prisoner, civil prisoner, under-trial prisoner and a detenue. xxix) "Prohibited article (contraband)" means any item that presents a threat to the safety or security of the prisoners, prison staff, prison institution or any object, substance or material forbidden by Prisons and Correctional Institutions or the Government from being in a prisoner's possession, like a cell phone/ communication device, drugs, anything that can be used as a weapon or to aid in escape such as a fire arm or any of its parts, explosives, knives, wire, tools, chemicals, razor blades, alcohol, matches, lighters or any article, the introduction or removal of which into or out of a prison is prohibited by this Act or by the rules framed under the Act or by any other law or by any notification of the Government. xxx) "Recidivist" means a convicted prisoner who offends repeatedly. xxxi) "Remission" means a concession granted by the competent authority to a convicted prisoner eligible for early release from prison, by reducing the sentence as may be prescribed under the rules. xxxii) "Rule" means a rule made under this Act. xxxiii) "Under-trial prisoner" means a person who is not a convict and has been committed to judicial custody pending investigation by the police or trial by a court of competent jurisdiction. xxxiv) "Wireless Communication Device" includes a mobile phone, computer, tablet, lap-top, palm-top or any other electronic device for communication or any other device notified by the competent authority. xxxv) "Young Offender" means a prisoner who has attained the age of 18 years but has not attained the age of 21 years. CHAPTER-II FUNCTIONS OF PRISONS AND CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS