CrPC amendment: Nearly 40-45 may walk free from Tihar

New Delhi, June 26 (UNI) Less than four dozen of the over 14,000 inmates are expected to walk free from Tihar jail following the recent amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), a jail official said today.

''Nearly 40-45 persons have been identified for release. The process for their release is being initiated,'' he said.

Most of them were serving terms under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, he added.

According to reports, a fourth of the over two lakh undertrials in jails across the country may walk free because of the amendment, notified by the Home Ministry last week.

Tihar, India's largest prison, houses nearly 14,000 prisoners, most of them facing trial.

Undertrials for crime other than those for which death penalty is specified and who have already been detained for up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence ''shall be released by the Court on his personal bond with or without sureties'', the amended Section 436A of the CrPC says.

While certain exceptions are allowed, in no case would a person be held in jail if he has already served ''more than the maximum period of imprisonment provided for the said offence under that law''.

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