Parole for prisoners in WB increased to 10 months

CALCUTTA, JUNE 3: The West Bengal government has increased the maximum duration of parole for convicts to 10 months, Minister for Social Welfare and Jails Biswanath Chowdhury told mediapersons yesterday.

A convict would have to serve between 16 and 20 years of sentence to be eligible for the maximum duration of parole, and he could avail 30 days’ parole after serving a term of at least 14 years, Chowdhury said, adding that a high-level committee, comprising the Home Secretary, the Director General of state police, the city Police Commissioner and other senior jail officials, had been set up to study parole applications and ascertain eligibility.

Besides the committee, the jailers have also been given the power to grant parole for a maximum period of five days in case of emergency. While earlier paroles were granted only on the basis of police reports, the government has decided to consider the court judgment and the convict’s past record in giving him leave. Before being released on parole, however, the convict would either have to make a security deposit of Rs 1,000 or produce a guarantor.