Cabinet curtails Governor’s power in premature release of prisoners

Bengaluru: In a significant decision, the State Cabinet has curtailed the power of the Governor with respect to premature release of prisoners, taking shelter under Sec 432 of the CrPC.

The issue, which was subject of conflict between the previous BJP government and the then Governor Dr H.R. Bhardwaj, is all set to continue during the tenure of the present Congress government and Governor Mr Vajubai Rudrabai Vala who was in the BJP.

To avoid such conflicts, the Cabinet on Wednesday deleted two paragraphs of the earlier guidelines made on January 2, 2013, which had said that the recommendation made by the Committee headed by the Prisons ADGP should be sent to the Governor for his consent and the Cabinet would approve the Governor’s decision.

The State government is all set to place the proposal before the Supreme Court and get its consent for the new proposal. Following the conflict between BJP government and Dr Bhardwaj, some of the prisoners had gone to court. The Court had said that in absence of proper guidelines, it would not intervene in the issue. Following the court verdict, the State government had prepared the guidelines.

When Dr Bhardwaj was replaced by Mr Vala, the conflict between Raj Bhavan and Vidhana Soudh was expected to continue. As a precautionary measure, the Cabinet decided to curtail the Governor's power, sources in the government said. The modified guideline says that the last two paragraphs of the earlier order could be removed, as the power for early release of prisoners vests in the government under Sec  432 of CrPC.