Devil’s Advocate continues ………….

Under Indian law, people who are sentenced to life imprisonment become eligible for a review of their sentence after fourteen years. The remaining part of their sentence can be waived or commuted by the Sentence Review Board, which is appointed by the Government of Delhi. I learnt that Manjeet’s case had come up before the board five times
and had been repeatedly rejected. The board was meeting next on 20 April 2011. My
presence, as the head of Tihar Prisons, was required at the meeting, as the ex officio member secretary.

It had been close to five months since I had taken over as the director general of prisons. I had learnt a lot about the punishment, reformation and rehabilitation of convicts during this time. From being a hardened cop, whose mission in life was to send offenders behind bars, I had begun to see things ‘from the other side’ and in a very different light. I had realized that there was much more to dealing with criminals than sending them to jail. We had to reform them and give them another chance at an honest life. They were, after all, human beings, many of whom had committed crimes under circumstances that had forced them to take the law into their own hands. If during their imprisonment they showed signs of repentance, remorse and the desire to be reformed, they deserved rehabilitation and integration with mainstream society.

Once again, I called upon the jail superintendent and his support staff and asked them to share their thoughts on the commutation of Manjeet’s sentence. They told me that they were all of the opinion that the remaining part of Manjeet’s sentence should be commuted. But they were sceptical of a favourable verdict from the Sentence Review Board, as his case had been rejected five times.

To be Continued ………….