Assam Government forms two committees to provide financial support to poor prisoners

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: To ensure proper implementation of the Government of India’s scheme to provide financial support to poor prisoners languishing in jails, the Assam Government has formed two committees – an Empowered Committee at the district level and an Oversight Committee at the State level, as per the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Government of India has taken a policy decision to provide financial support to poor persons who are in prisons and are unable to afford penalties and bail amounts due to financial constraints. In this regard, the Central Government had issued ‘Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure’.

The Government of Assam, vide an Assam Gazette notification published recently, formed two committees for the implementation of this scheme. The district-level Empowered Committee will assess the requirement of financial support in each case for securing bail or for payment of fine etc. and based on the decision taken, the District Magistrate will draw the money from the CNA account and take necessary action. The Empowered Committee will comprise – the District Magistrate as chairperson; Superintendent of Police as member; Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority as member; the Superintendent/ Deputy Superintendent of the prison concerned as member secretary; and the Judge in-charge of the prison concerned, as nominee of the District Judge, as member. The Committee may appoint a Nodal Officer and take assistance of any civil society representative/social worker/District Social Welfare Officer to assist them in processing cases of needy prisoners.

The Oversight Committee, on the other hand, will oversee the implementation of the scheme and consider cases referred to it by the district-level Empowered Committees. The Oversight Committee will comprise – the Principal Secretary to the Government of Assam, Home & Political Department as chairperson; Registrar General of Gauhati High Court or his nominee as member; Secretary to the Government of Assam, Judicial Department as member; Secretary to the Government of Assam, Home (B) Department as member secretary; Secretary of the Assam State Legal Services Authority as member; and the Inspector General of Prisons, Assam as member.

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