The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the State government to explain as to why an 87-year-old life convict, suffering from vision problems, should not be released prematurely since he had already completed 10 years of incarceration in a murder case.
A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and V. Sivagnanam directed Additional Public Prosecutor E. Raj Thilak to obtain instructions by Tuesday on the plea made by advocate P. Pugalendhi, also Director of Prisoners’ Right Forum, for premature release of the octogenarian.
In his affidavit, the petitioner had claimed to have interviewed the aged prisoner at the Central Prison in Puzhal and found him to have lost vision very badly. He had been convicted in a 2012 murder case and had been undergoing incarceration since 2013, the petitioner said.
Though a life convict would be eligible to be considered for premature release on completion of 10 years of imprisonment, the jail authorities had so far not placed his case before the Medical Board so that he could be released on medical grounds, the petitioner’s counsel M. Radhakrishnan complained.
Published - October 24, 2024 07:51 pm IST
