Supreme Court raps Uttar Pradesh Govt for delay in considering remission pleas

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 5

The Supreme Court on Monday rapped the UP Government for not complying with its order to consider remission pleas of convicts within the timeframe specified by it and directed the UP Principal Secretary (Prisons) to appear before it through videoconferencing on August 19.

“Four months have passed. Again you are asking for two more months to decide the plea. Nothing has been done. As far as state of UP is considered, we have seen that the order passed by this court for considering remission plea of accused persons in a specific time is not being considered,” a Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka said.

The Bench, which also included Justice Augustine George Masih, said: “We want to correct the system.”

While hearing a convict’s plea seeking remission in accordance with the applicable policy of the state, the Bench took strong exception of the state government counsel seeking time once again after the matter called out for hearing.

In April, the top court had given six weeks to the UP Government. Last month, it was informed that the state government has not passed any orders despite the jail authorities recommending the case of the petitioner.

What Bench said

“Four months have passed. Again you are asking for two more months to decide the plea. Nothing has been done. As far as state of UP is considered, we have seen that the order passed by this court for considering remission plea of accused persons in a specific time is not being considered,” a Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka said.