Remission of Convicts: Supreme Court summons Uttar Pradesh Principal secretary

The Supreme Court on Monday took exception to the State of Uttar Pradesh (UP) for its failure to comply with court-mandated timelines for disposing of remission applications of convicts [Kuldeep v State of Uttar Pradesh and ors]..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing the bail matter of an accused who had applied for remission (premature release from prison) long back.When the lawyer for the State asked for 'some breathing space' to examine the matter, Justice Oka remarked,"Four months have passed? We gave you two months. And now still you ask for two more months to decide the plea. Nothing has been done. As far as State of UP is considered, we have seen that the orders passed by this court for considering remission plea of accused persons in a specific time is not at all considered."The Bench, thus, directed the concerned Principal Secretary of Uttar Pradesh to remain present before the Court via video conference (VC) on August 19. "We want to correct the system in which you are falling. We direct Principal Secretary of the concerned department to remain present via VC on August 19," the Court ordered. .The Supreme Court had in February 2023 issued various directions to the State of UP when it came to premature release of prisoners in the State. The same was done in a bid to institutionalise the process and minimise arbitrariness.Among other directions, the Court had called for the State to strictly comply with the laws already in force with respect to premature release. Pertinently, it laid down a timeline of three months for taking decisions in such matters.Further, it had ordered the preparation of an online dashboard with information on all convicts undergoing imprisonment and the dates on which they would become eligible for premature release..Advocates Pradeep Kumar Yadav, Gopal Singh, Anjale Kumari, Chhaya, Sadam Satya Narayana Raja Yadav, Thota Shiv Ram Prasad, Sunil Kumar Srivastava, P Murugesan, Dinesh Satypal Sehgal, Ashwani Garg and Sanjeev Malhotra, appeared for the petitioner.Additional Advocate General RK Raizada, advocates Ankit Goel, Antriksh Singh, Sahil Patel and Nikhil Sharma, appeared for the State.