CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has ordered that persons convicted for sexual offences and in Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases will not be considered for premature release from prisons.
The GO was issued by Dheeraj Kumar, additional chief secretary, home department, on February 4 based on a proposal from the DGP of Prisons and Correctional Services. Rule 348 of the Tamil Nadu Prison Rules, 2024, has been amended to effect this change.
After the GO was issued, the DGP of Prisons issued a notification on Tuesday directing all prisons to take note of the amendment while reviewing or recommending cases of convicted prisoners for premature release.
The order follows an announcement by Chief Minister MK Stalin in the Assembly during his reply to the motion of thanks to the governor’s address last month.
The government recently brought in amendments to Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita in their application to Tamil Nadu to make the punishments stringent for certain types of sexual offences and enabling complainants of sexual harassment to obtain protection orders to prevent the accused from contacting them in any way in the future. The amendments came in the backdrop of the rape of an Anna University student inside the campus in December, which caused public outrage.
Child rights activist A Devaneyan welcomed the move, though he said it had come late. “In Pocso cases, studies show that 97% of the accused are persons known to the child. Imagine the trauma they would face if the convict would be released prematurely and live in their vicinity,” he said.
Additional Chief Secretary issued the order on February 4
The G.O. was issued by Dheeraj Kumar, additional chief secretary, home department, on February 4 based on a proposal from the DGP of Prisons and Correctional Services. Rule 348 of the Tamil Nadu Prison Rules, 2024, has been amended to effect this change.