By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 16: The state government has submitted before the High Court of Meghalaya that the draft remission policy formulated according to the directions of the Supreme Court is likely to be placed before the Cabinet in its meeting scheduled before the Christmas vacation and likely to be published in the gazette by the end of January 2026.
A Bench of the high court was constituted pursuant to the order passed by the apex court on November 4 in a relevant writ petition filed in 2021. The matter was placed before the Chief Justice on December 15 by the Joint Registrar (Listing) for appropriate direction and was listed on Tuesday.
Advocate General A. Kumar submitted that the draft remission policy is likely to be placed before the Cabinet in its pre-Christmas meeting and published in the gazette a month later. “We hope that the draft policy, which has been pending for long, is being finalised by the government and notified at the earliest so that by the adjourned date, steps can be taken for proper implementation of the remission and premature release in accordance with the policy to be formalised by the Cabinet,” the Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice H.S. Thangkhiew said.
The Chief Justice had constituted a Sentence Remission Committee, which is also in seisin of the matter.
The court requested the Advocate General to communicate with the Registrar General as soon as the policy is notified so that the Sentence Remission Committee can monitor its implementation.
The Advocate General assured the court that all assistance shall be rendered to the said Committee in implementing the policy of remission and premature release.
Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority was directed to identify the cases where the accused would be entitled to remission and premature release upon the policy being notified, and if required, shall file applications before the Bench having the jurisdiction so that the convict/accused persons can avail of the said benefit.
The superintendents of jail were also directed to ensure that once the policy is approved by the government, the accused persons are duly identified and appropriate steps are taken for their remission and premature release strictly in terms of the aforesaid policy of the state.
