71-year-old out of jail after 11 years

Vidushi Dubey / TNN / May 5, 2006, 03:16 IST

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Rampati and her husband were arrested in the year 1979 for murdering her sister-in-law over a property dispute.

LUCKNOW: The sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her wrinkled face were enough to narrate all her feelings. Rampati (71), a resident of Basti and a prisoner at the Nari Bandi Niketan just could not control her tears as she stepped out of the jail premises with her release orders in her hands after serving 11 years in the jail.
Rampati cannot hear properly, see and barely manages to walk.None ever saw her smiling. All she did the whole day was to sit aside in a corner of the jail and look into oblivion. But today nearly after eight years she could be seen smiling and talking.
��Aaj hum ghar ja rahein hain, kitni kushi hai mat poochiye�� (I am going home today and my happiness knows no bounds)", was the first thing that Rampati said.
Further, narrating her story she said that she and her husband were arrested in the year 1979 for murdering her sister-in-law over a property dispute. She was brought to Nari Bandi Niketan in 1996 and was sentenced for life imprisonment under section 302/34.

��Yeh kushi ek bar aur mili thi, Ek bar hum aur chote they par phir pakad gaye, (I received this happiness before also when I was released earlier but was again arrested)", she said.
Explaining which jail superintendent, Model jail Suresh Chandra said that she was released on January 27, 2000 when a general order for releasing the female convict prisoners was issued on the eve of January 26 2000.
It contained the terms and condition under which a female prisoner who had completed 60 years of age and one third of the actual sentence undergone should be released, stated Chandra.

She was convicted again on July 27, 2002 when the above government order was challenged in the court of law. "The high court gave a verdict in this regard and quashed the release order.
It further directed to re-arrest the released prisoners in the case of Mirza Muhammad Vs state of Uttar Pradesh. Since then there was no generalised order issued by the government to release the female convict prisoners to release on the basis of age," added Chandra.
Chandra further added that Rampati had been a prisoner for over half a decade and her case was just perfect for mercy petition in the light of Sections 195, 196 and 197 of the UP Jail Manual (that deal pre-mature release of convict prisoners).
He added that these sections empower the superintendent to recommend to the governor for the premature release of a convict on the ground of old age, infirmity or illness.
The governor has the power to grand pardon, remit or commute sentences in certain cases under article 161 of the constitution which is absolute meaning that the individual cases can be presented before the governor for mercy petition.
"We issued a mercy petition for her on September 22, 2004. And it was May 4 when she was finally released after all the formalities were completed, he added.

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