KATHMANDU, Oct 18: The government is implementing a parole system, allowing individuals with good conduct in prisons across the country to be temporarily released for family reunification.
With the passing of the parole procedure in accordance with the Criminal Offenses (Sentencing and Enforcement) Act, 2017, the process necessary to implement it from today has been advanced, said Surya Raj Dahal, spokesperson of the Office of the Attorney General.
The Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs has appointed a parole officer to oversee the relevant prison administrators until a permanent parole officer is designated, in accordance with Section 49 of the Criminal Offenses (Sentencing and Enforcement) Act, 2017. This appointment takes effect from October 18.The Ministry published a notice in the gazette on October 12 and appointed a parole officer. The provisions related to parole in the Criminal Offenses (Sentencing and Execution) Act, which came into effect in September, 2018, have been implemented after five years.
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Even though the prison system started in Nepal since 1971, parole has been implemented only after 109 years. The Parole Board chaired by the Attorney General will seek details from the Department of Prison Management after making the necessary criteria. The department will provide the board with the exact data on where and how many prisoners are eligible for parole.
Based on the said details, the court will send the actual number of prisoners eligible for parole to the parole officer. According to Kamal Prasad Pandey, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, it seems that 1,500 prisoners will get parole facilities based on the preliminary basis. Prisoners will be able to utilize the parole provision after Dashain Tihar festivals.
According to Section 29 of the Criminal Offenses (Sentencing and Enforcement) Act, 2017, prisoners with good behavior, sentenced to more than one year of imprisonment, except for those convicted of life imprisonment, corruption, human trafficking, organized crime, money laundering, cruel inhumane torture, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the state, will be eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Those granted parole will be allowed to reintegrate into society under the supervision of parole officers while adhering to specified conditions for the remainder of their sentence.
The Parole Board will be formed under the coordination of the Attorney General, and the Inspector General of Police, representatives of relevant ministries, psychiatrists, criminologists, and criminologists will be members of the board. A similar mechanism will be set up in the province and the provision of remission of punishment will be implemented.
Prisoners who get the facility of parole will be able to live in the society after leaving the prison. While living in such a society, the prescribed conditions must be fulfilled. They are legally supervised by parole officers. Those who get the facility of parole will be considered to have served the period of imprisonment while living in the society, but in case of violation of the condition, the remaining imprisonment will have to be served again inside the prison. According to that, now in the adjudication of every criminal case, if the accused is found guilty and if he receives a sentence of more than one year, the judge must state in the order or judgment whether he can be released on parole or not. He will get that facility only if he can be released on parole.
The government has decided to appoint parole officers for prisons across the country as per section 49 of the Act. Although there is a provision allowing individuals with experience in community service or rehabilitation to become parole officers, it has now been decided to entrust the role of the parole officer to the warden of the respective prison.
Nepal's prisons are grappling with overcrowding, with more than 28,000 inmates across the country. The Nuwakot prison, with a capacity of 7,000, has been under construction for seven years and remains incomplete. Despite an initial cost of Rs 12 billion, the construction has not reached 70 percent completion. Authorities anticipate that the implementation of the parole system will help alleviate the pressure on the country's prison facilities.
