NEW DELHI: For thousands of women and transgender prisoners over the age of 50, there is good news.. As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to mark "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav," the government intends to commute their sentences gradually, subject on how they behave in detention.
The programme will also cover physically challenged inmates who have served more than half of their whole term as well as male inmates over the age of 60.

By waiving off the penalties, poor inmates who have served their term but are still incarcerated because they have not paid the charges against them would also gain.

The programme does not apply to inmates who have received life sentences, death sentences, rape convictions, terror convictions, dowry death convictions, or money laundering convictions,  the Home Ministry said.

An official estimate from 2020 indicated that jails in India were still overflowing with inmates, housing 4.78 lakh of them compared to a real capacity of 4.03 lakh. Nearly a lakh of the total convicts are female.

According to a statement from the home ministry to all the states and union territories, inmates who meet the requirements will be freed in three stages: on August 15, 2022, January 26, 2023, and August 15, 2023.

The eligibility criteria for inmates to be considered for remission include those who have consistently maintained good behavior throughout their stay in jail, especially those who have not received any penalty during the sentencing period in the previous three years.

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