
IJJS
Legal Basis of Premature Release
Author: Kirt Agarwal, Student, National Law University, Delhi, India
Abstract
The Constitution of India guarantees plethora of rights to every citizen of the country which vests with them till the last breathe of their life, be it a free citizen or a prisoner. Humanitarian law highlights the rights of prisoners in respect of prison rules, sentences of imprisonment for life and power of remission that vests with the Executive. In light of this, convicts of some popular cases like Manu Sharma of Jessica Lal murder case and A. G. Perarivalan of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case has demanded early release from their imprisonment. Questions have also been raised upon the alleged arbitrariness of the working of the Sentence Review Board. This research paper wants to raise issue of relevance of the State Sentence Review Board in its present form and also attempts to highlight the objectives of rehabilitation through provisions for premature release of prisoners in the backdrop of the functioning of the administration, legislative provisions along with the guidelines laid down by the Apex court in India.
Keywords: Premature release, rehabilitation, State Sentence Review Board, remission, commutation
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