The 35th meeting of the Jharkhand State Sentence Review Council, chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren at his residential office on Kanke Road in Ranchi, concluded on Friday with a major decision to release 51 prisoners serving life sentences in various jails across the state.
During the meeting, 37 new cases related to prisoner release were reviewed along with 66 earlier cases that had been rejected in previous council meetings.
CM Reviews Each Case Before Approval
Chief Minister Hemant Soren held a detailed discussion with officials on the proposal to release a total of 103 life-term prisoners recommended by the council. Each individual case file was examined carefully, taking into account the nature of crimes, opinions of the courts, respective district police superintendents, jail superintendents, and probation officers.
The Chief Minister also reviewed the age, family background, social conditions, and educational status of the prisoners before agreeing to the release of 51 inmates.
Senior officials present at the meeting included Additional Chief Secretary to the CM Avinash Kumar, Principal Secretary of Home, Prison and Disaster Management Department Vandana Dadel, DGP Anurag Gupta, Principal Secretary-cum-Legal Advisor (Justice) Neeraj Kumar Srivastava, IG Prison and Correctional Services Sudarshan Prasad Mandal, Judicial Commissioner Anil Kumar Mishra, Chief Probation Officer, and other officials.
ALSO READ: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren pays tribute to former education minister Ramdas Soren in Jamshedpur
Guidance for Rehabilitation and Social Security
Emphasizing the importance of rehabilitation, Chief Minister Hemant Soren instructed officials to encourage released inmates to begin a better social life. He noted that prisoners who have served 14 years or more, are elderly, and have displayed good conduct in jail are generally considered for release.
The Chief Minister highlighted cases involving prisoners suffering from illnesses or mental health issues and directed officials to prepare a proper plan to provide medical and psychological treatment. He said that their release should be considered only after doctors certify their condition fit for reintegration into society.
Soren further directed that all released prisoners must be linked with social security schemes to ensure stability in their post-prison life.
470 Released Prisoners Already Benefiting from Welfare Schemes
Officials informed the Chief Minister that since 2019, a total of 619 prisoners have been released from various state jails following the council’s recommendations. Out of these, physical verification has been completed for 558 inmates, while 61 cases are pending.
It was further reported that 470 released prisoners are already benefiting from government social security schemes such as old-age pension, widow pension, ration cards, Ayushman Bharat health cards, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, MGNREGA e-shram cards, among others. Work is in progress to extend these benefits to the remaining released prisoners who have not yet been covered under such welfare initiatives.
