Parole

 

Parole is the conditional release of prisoners i.e. an early release of a prisoner, conditional on good behavior and regular reporting to the authorities for a set period of time'.

The object behind parole is to grant some relief to the prisoners in certain exigencies which may be as follows:

 

·        A member of the prisoner's family has died or is seriously ill or the prisoner himself is seriously ill;

 

·        The marriage of the prisoner himself, his son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, sister's son or daughter is to be     celebrated;

 

·        The temporary release of the prisoner is necessary for ploughing, sowing or harvesting or carrying on any other agricultural operation of his land or his father's undivided land actually in possession of the prisoner;

 

·        It is desirable to do so for any other sufficient cause.

 

·        Parole can be granted only after a portion of the sentence is served. If the conditions of parole are not abided by the parolee, he may be returned to serve his sentence in prison.

 

·        There are many State Governments who have formulated guidelines on parole in order to bring out the objectivity in the decision making and to decide as to whether parole needs to be granted in a particular case or not. In such cases, the decision to whether grant parole or to not grant parole is taken in accordance with the guidelines so framed. The guidelines of some of the States stipulate two kinds of paroles, namely:-

 

                                i.            Custody Parole and

                              ii.            Regular Parole.

 

 

·        Parole can be granted in case of short-term imprisonment whereas furlough is granted in case of long-term imprisonment. Duration of parole extends to one month whereas in case of furlough it extends to fourteen days maximum.

 

·        Parole is granted by Divisional Commissioner and furlough is granted by the Deputy Inspector of General of Prisons/jail.

 

·        For parole a specific reason is required, whereas furlough is meant for breaking the monotony of imprisonment.

 

·        The term of imprisonment is not included in the computation of the term parole, whereas it is vise-versa in furlough.

 

·        Parole can be granted number of times whereas there is a limitation in the case of furlough.

 

·        The provisions of parole and furlough, thus, provide for a humanistic approach towards convicts lodged in jails. The main purpose of such provisions is to afford convicts with an opportunity to resolve their personal and family problems and to enable them to maintain their links with society. Every citizen of this country ought to have a vested interested in preparing offenders for successful re-entry into society. Those who leave prison without strong networks of support, employment prospects, fundamental knowledge of co- existing with the community they return to and without resources stands to diminish their prospects of reformation and increases their chances of failing to fit in the societal structure. Therefore, concepts such as parole and furlough, if used judiciously may help prepare convicts/prisoners to successfully re-enter society and live life as law-abiding citizen.