Gujarat govt pardons 439 prisoners on Republic Day eve

Ahmedabad: As many as 439 prisoners, over half of them serving life sentence, will be freed from Gujarat jails after the state government ordered their release on humanitarian grounds on the eve of Republic Day. The decision to pardon the remaining sentences of these 439 prisoners was taken by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on humanitarian grounds, said an official press release. This is for the first time that such a large number of prisoners have been pardoned by the state, it said. Among these, 243 convicts, including 21 women, had been awarded life imprisonment and have completed at least 12 years of sentence, said the release. Another 110 inmates are those who were given lesser jail terms by courts and completed 75 per cent of the punishment period. Remaining include male prisoners above 65 years of age, those who have not jumped parole since the last 10 years and women above 60 years who complete five years in jail as on January 26, said the release. Those convicted for rape, multiple murders, robbery and under tough laws like POTA, TADA or under National Security Act, are not given state pardon, said the release.