The government has come up with a new prison manual, which will ensure that death row convicts get a final meeting with family members before execution and legal aid at all stages even after rejection of mercy petitions.
The new rules came three years after the Centre faced flak for not informing the family of Afzal Guru, the Parliament attack convict, before his hanging in Delhi’s Tihar jail.
The new prison manual consisting of 32 chapters, which aims at bringing in basic uniformity in rules governing the administration of prisons and the management of prisoners all over the country.
The provision of legal aid to prisoners sentenced to death at all stages, even after the rejection of mercy petitions, facilitating and allowing a final meeting between a prisoner and his family have been incorporated in new Chapter XII (Chapter XI of the 2003 Manual). Other key changes for the death row convicts include procedure and channels through which mercy petitions are to be submitted, communication of rejection of mercy petitions and furnishing necessary documents, such as court papers, judgments, to the prisoners.