Government spells out amnesty details to guard itself from charges of bias

NEW DELHI: Persons convicted in cases of murder, rape, dowry, corruption, terror, drug peddling and money laundering will not be released during the one year amnesty scheme that the government has announced to mark 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, starting from October 2.

In July-end, Union home minister Rajnath Singh wrote letters to states and union territories to apprise them of guidelines for special remission to prisoners who have consistently maintained good conduct during their jail term, said ministry sources.

The guideline outlined that women convicts aged 55 years and above and male convicts of 60 years or more, who have completed half of their sentence, and a few other categories of prisoners, such as transgenders and terminally ill, will be released under the amnesty scheme which would be implemented in three phases — on October 2, 2018, April 6, 2019 and October 2, 2019, the MHA said in a statement on Monday.


The categories of jail inmates to be set free would quell rumours that politicians might benefit from the annual exercise, said a ministry official. The states have been asked to prepare a list by August 15 so that the first batch could be set free on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on October 2.

The central government has decided to celebrate Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary from October 2, 2018 to October 2, 2020.