Rakesh Singh 35, who is lodged in Tihar jail and is serving
a life term for murder, can’t wait to get married.
He had written to Delhi government seeking permission to be
released on parole for four days to tie the knot with his long time
acquaintance Roshni. In his letter he has written how he was committed to
Roshni and his long-cherished dream to marry her.
Rakesh is not alone.
Tihar jail authorities are literally flooded with such
requests from convicts languishing in Asia’s biggest prison over the past few
years – several of them seeking parole to marry.
“Several of such convicts marry after being granted parole.
This is a growing trend and we do not have any complaints. It is a positive
thing and would also help them in rehabilitating once they get out of prison
after serving their term,” said a senior prison official.
Over last two years around 150 convicts have got married
after being allowed parole. In total, around 800 inmates have gone on parole
for various reasons.
“Another good thing is that the promise of an ordered family
life after jail made such convicts to be on good behaviour inside prison. After
marriage they become more disciplined and well-mannered, he added.
But there are others who misuse the relief and go missing
after being granted parole --- 26 convicts have gone missing in the last two
years after they were granted relief.
“This is why we have written to the Delhi government to make
parole rules more stringent and amend the existing guidelines,” another
official said.
In 2011 end, Delhi high court granted Manu Sharma, serving a
life term for the 1999 murder of Jessica Lal, parole for five days to attend
his brother’s wedding but laid down a condition -- he wouldn’t visit nightclubs
or discotheques during the five days.
In 2009 Delhi government had landed in a soup after
recommending parole to Sharma who was found partying in a discotheque in the
capital the last time he had been granted parole to visit his ailing mother in
Chandigarh and attend his grandmother’s last rites.
According to the official jail authorities get 20-25
applications every month from convicts seeking parole on several grounds
including marriage.
“Only those who are well-behaved and have never been
involved in any untoward incident inside prison are allowed,” said Sunil Gupta,
law officer Tihar jail
Parole is granted to convicts on grounds of sickness in the
family, perform funeral rite, attend marriage, sorting out property dispute, construct
a house or repair a damaged house, education or any other sufficient reasons.
It is granted by the governor, Delhi, and the high court if the appeal is
pending there.
The relief allows a convict to leave the prison for a period
of maximum one month on condition that he would behave appropriately after
release and report back to the prison on termination of the parole period.
At present 12,000 inmates are lodged in Tihar jail and 25-30
percent of them are convicts.
“Inmates in Tihar are relatively young and the average age
being 25-40. We are very happy that some of them are getting married on parole.
It helps them in rehabilitation after serving their terms,” Gupta said.
According to jail norms wives are allowed to meet their
husbands twice a week which is a normal procedure.
Last year Punjab government announced that they may allow
select male inmates to have sex with their partners in a designated area of the
jail. If the proposal, which is part of the jails reforms programme, is allowed
then Punjab will become the first state to allow sex in prison.
ENDS
No comments:
Post a Comment