Delhi Prisons introduce new rule granting remission for good conduct during undertrial period

Delhi prisons have introduced a new rule that allows inmates to be granted remission based on their good conduct during their time spent as undertrials, an official said on Thursday.

This is the first time that such a provision has been made in the Indian penal system and currently, only convicted inmates were eligible for remission based on their behaviour.

According to prison officials, this new rule will allow the consideration of inmates for remission based on their conduct as undertrials.

"However, the remission will only be added to their sentence after they are convicted in their case. This initiative aims to motivate inmates to display good conduct during their time as undertrial and encourages rehabilitation by providing an opportunity to reduce their sentence," said a senior prison official. The National Crime Records Bureau data of 2021 shows that the percentage of undertrial inmates with respect to total prison population was approximately 77 per cent. In Delhi Prisons, the percentage of undertrial prisoners is even higher than the national percentage and currently above 90 per cent. "It is ironic that across the country, most of the rules have been framed for the convicts only. All the remissions, work wages facility, parole, furlough, open institutions are mainly meant for convicts only. This is despite the fact that more than 90 per cent of the population belongs to Undertrial prisoners. Therefore, there is hardly any motivational factor for maintaining good conduct for the undertrial prisoners. This was the reason why a new rule was added to the jail manual," said a senior official from Delhi Prisons.

He said, since most of the time spent by an inmate in jail is as an undertrial, the new rule added states that any inmate, who is eligible for ordinary remission will be eligible for award of remission for the good conduct during his period of incarceration as an undertrial prisoner also.

"This remission will be based on his/her annual good conduct report for that period. The report for a year during the undertrial period will earn one month of remission, once the concerned undertrial is convicted. This rule is expected to help in keeping the undertrials in discipline and motivate them for reformation," the official added.