KATHMANDU, Nov 17: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a mandamus to the government to give concession on jail terms to those inmates who are involved in services such as teaching or working in various locations inside the jail.
A division bench of justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Sapana Pradhan Malla issued the order in response to a writ petition filed by advocates Ananta Raj Luitel, Ram Krishna Banjara and Prabindra Raj Joshi.
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“It is a must to provide jail term concessions to those inmates who work inside the jail and show improvement in their conduct without discrimination,” the bench ruled.
“According to Rule 29(1) (2) of the Prison Rules, 1964, the jail term of an inmate can be reduced by up to 60 percent if his/her habits and conduct improve and if s/he is involved providing services inside the jail. So, this provision needs to be implemented without discrimination,” the bench ruled.
During Thursday's hearing, advocates Luitel, Banjara and Bikash Bhattarai argued for apex court instructions to the authorities to implement the rules without any kind of discrimination.
The court said that government authorities - the Department of Prison Management and the Ministry of Home Affairs - have been discriminating between the inmates by granting jail term concessions to some while depriving others working inside the jail from such concessions.
