New remission rules could get inmates out earlier

Remissions might be granted for pursuing formal or religious education.

LAHORE:

The Prisons Department has requested the government to amend prison rules to allow prisoners to get more remissions in their sentence.

The proposed amendment will allow a remission in sentence to all prisoners improving formal educational qualifications or learning religious texts.

Currently, a prisoner can get only one remission during a year either from obtaining formal educational or through religious education. Now the government intends to grant remission for pursuing both types of education partly in order to reduce overcrowding in jails.

Under Pakistan Prisons Rules (PPR) 1978, an ordinary remission can be awarded to all prisoners for up to five days per month. For good conduct, a 15 days remission can be awarded in the first and second year of a sentence and a 30 days recission during the third year.

If an inmate donates blood, he can get a remission for 30 to 120 days in a sentence from 30 days to 6 months, a 60 days remission in a sentence of six months to five years and 120 days off for a sentence longer than five years.

According to Rule 216 of the PPR, the relevant jail superintendent can award a 30 days remission, the Inspector General of Prisons a 60 days remission and the Punjab government and the federal government 60 days each every year.

According to Rule 215, if a prisoner gets 60 per cent marks in matriculation, intermediate or while pursuing a bachelor’s or a master’s degree, he can have four months taken off from a sentence of up to two year, six months off from a sentence of up to six years, eight months off from a sentence of up to 10 years and 10 months off from a sentence of more than 10 years.

An illiterate prisoner can get a two month remission if he passes primary class examinations given by the district education officer. Three months would be chopped off if he passes a Nazra Quran course. A prisoner can get from 15 to 60 days remission by passing Taleemul Quran courses, held in jails, and two months to six months by passing Tarjamul Quran.

If he becomes a hafiz (learning Quran by heart), he can get six months to two years taken off from his sentence.

The Supreme Court has recently expressed resentment at the overcrowding in Punjab’s jails.

There are 32 jails to house 24,000 inmates but currently they have nearly 60,000 prisoners.

Inspector General of Punjab Prisons Mian Farooq Nazir said most of the administrative and security problems in prisons were due to crowding. He also said 14 new jails were being built in the province and the Prisons Department had proposed the construction of 10 more.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2012.