Just before the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, rape convict and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has once again got furlough and this time he is out of jail for 21 days. This is not the first time that Ram Rahim has been given furlough in this manner. Till now he has been out on furlough or parole 10 times. Cases of powerful people getting furlough or parole have come to light before and film actor Sanjay Dutt is also an example of this.
Like Baba Ram Rahim, actor Sanjay Dutt, who was convicted of possessing weapons during the Mumbai bomb blasts, was continuously getting furlough or parole during his sentence. Sanjay Dutt also remained out of jail for more than 160 days due to these facilities. Not only this, due to good behavior he was released from jail 8 months before the completion of his sentence.
What was Sanjay Dutt’s case?
On March 12, 1993, serial bomb blasts took place in Mumbai, in which 257 people died and 713 were injured. On April 19, 1993, Sanjay Dutt was arrested for possessing an AK-56 rifle from the stockpile used for the Mumbai blasts, but he got bail within 18 days. After this, the matter reached the court where he was sentenced to 6 years by the lower court and after this he was sent to Yerwada Jail in Pune on July 31, 2007. However, he remained in jail for 18 months (as an undertrial) at different times between 1993 and 2007 and was later granted bail.
After this he reached the Supreme Court against the sentence. In March 2013, the Supreme Court reduced the sentence against Sanjay Dutt to five years. Between 2013 and 2016, he served about 29 months of imprisonment as a convict and was out on parole and furlough for more than 5 months.
Also read: Furlough and parole 10 times in four years… Ram Rahim came out again just before Haryana elections.
Furlough and parole continued during the sentence
October 2013: After being sentenced in March 2013, Sanjay Dutt was given furlough in October 2013. Due to pain in his leg, he got 14 days furlough.
December 2013: After this, in December 2013, he was released on parole for 28 days, which was later extended by 28 more days due to the treatment of his wife Manyata Dutt.
December 2014: In December 2014, he was allowed out on furlough for 14 days to “celebrate the New Year” with his family. However, later he asked for 14 more days furlough, which was rejected by the court.
August 2015: He again got 30 days parole for his daughter’s nose surgery.
Was released 8 months ago
Due to his good behavior, Sanjay Dutt was released from jail eight months ago. Due to his good behavior in jail, the Yerwada jail administration had proposed to release him six months ago, which was approved by the state government. Sanjay Dutt had already spent 18 months in jail out of the five-year sentence awarded by the court. He was finally released from jail in February 2016.
Court had raised questions on Sanjay Dutt’s parole and furlough.
Questions were raised about Sanjay Dutt repeatedly getting parole and furlough and it was said whether he got this facility because of his VIP status. When the matter reached the court, the Bombay High Court questioned the Maharashtra government regarding the early release of Sanjay Dutt from jail and asked that the government explain its decision as to how Sanjay Dutt was released from jail eight months ago. Whereas he was out on parole most of the time. In fact, Pune social activist Pradeep Bhalekar had challenged the furlough and parole given to Sanjay Dutt several times while he was serving his sentence.
What is parole?
Actually, parole is also a leave like furlough, in which the prisoner is allowed to come out of jail for some special reason. This is also found in the case of undertrial prisoners. In this the prisoner has to give a specific reason why you have to go out. For example, prisoners are given this exemption due to death of someone in the family or due to medical reasons, which is called parole. There are two types of parole, one is custody parole and regular parole.
In custody parole, one is allowed to come out of jail under certain circumstances, but remains in police custody. For example, if permission has been granted to meet someone, the prisoner can come out, but the police stays with him and meets him and then takes him to the jail. For example, Manish Sisodia was once given custody parole to meet his wife once a week.
Apart from this, there is regular parole, in which the prisoner can roam freely anywhere. However, both parole and furlough have certain conditions under which the prisoner is released for a certain period of time.
Also read: Which convicts serving sentence get parole and furlough?
What is furlough?
– Furlough is like a holiday, in which the prisoner is released for a few days. The period of furlough is seen as a relief from the prisoner’s sentence and his right.
– Furlough is available only to prisoners who have been sentenced. Furlough is usually given to a prisoner who has been sentenced for a long time.
– Its purpose is that the prisoner can meet his family and people of the society. It can be given without any reason also.
– Since jail is a state subject, there are different rules regarding furlough in every state. There is no provision for granting furlough in Uttar Pradesh.
What is the difference between furlough and payroll?
– Furlough and payroll are two different things. Both of them are mentioned in the Prison Act 1894. Furlough is available only to convicted prisoners. Whereas, any prisoner on parole can be released for a short period of time.
Apart from this, no reason is required for granting furlough. But there must be some reason for the payroll.
– Parole is granted only when someone in the prisoner’s family dies, someone in blood relation gets married or there are some other important reasons.
– Parole can also be refused to a prisoner. The parole officer can refuse saying that releasing the prisoner is not in the interest of the society.
When are parole and furlough not available?
In September 2020, the Union Home Ministry had issued new guidelines for payroll and furlough. In this the Home Ministry had told that when will no one be given parole and furlough? According to this.
– Those prisoners whose presence in the society is dangerous or whose presence poses a threat to peace and law and order, should not be released.
-Prisoners who have been involved in crimes related to prison violence such as assault, inciting riot, rebellion or attempting to escape should not be released.
-Prisoners convicted or accused of serious crimes like robbery, terrorism related crimes, kidnapping for ransom, smuggling of drugs in commercial quantities should not be released.
– Those prisoners whose return after completing the parole or furlough period is doubtful, should also not be released.
-In cases of serious crimes like sexual crimes, murder, child kidnapping and violence, a committee can decide to grant parole or furlough after taking into account all the facts.
Who decides remission of sentence?
The state government has the right to grant parole and its rules are different in every state. Furlough is given to a prisoner in jail as a form of freedom and is considered a prisoner’s right. The government or jail authorities can approve or deny furloughs based on the prisoner’s behavior and jail reports.