The Punjab Government today issued Notification authorising all Deputy Commissioners to grant temporary release, on furlough to the prisoners lodged in the jails located in their districts. This step has been taken to cut the Red Tape ushering in an era of Governance Reforms in the Jails department.Disclosing this here today by Sohan Singh Thandal, Minister for Jails said that he had been receiving representation from the Prisoners and their families that the process of temporarily release was tedious, time consuming and complicated. They had been complaining that in case medical emergency and other unforeseen emergency in the immediate family of prisoners the long time taken in sanction of temporary release defeat the very purpose of seeking release. He said that he consulted this issue with Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal who gave his nod to delegate this power to Deputy Commissioners of those districts where these jails were located to facilitate the early sanction.
He said that Deputy Commissioners have also been authorized to exercise the power of the State Government under sub section (4) of section 3 of the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1962 (Punjab Act No. 11 of 1962). He said that now the Deputy Commissioners could exercise the powers of the State Government in respect of the grounds specified in clause (a),(b) and (c) of the sub section (1) of the aforesaid section.Thandal said that Deputy Commissioner while exercising the powers of the State Government could grant temporary release, on furlough to any prisoner lodged in the jails of their district subject to the conditions laid down in the section 4 of the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1962. He said that DCs could exercise these powers in accordance of the Act, Rules made their under and guidelines issued by the State Government from time to time and under the over-all supervision of the State Government and Additional Director General of Police cum Inspector General of Police (Jails)