KOCHI: The High Court has ordered that the jail authorities should take a decision within three weeks if the inmates in the jail apply for emergency leave or parole and then inform the same within a week to the relatives.

The judgement of Justice PV Kunjikrishnan also states that if the jail authorities ask for a police report to take a decision on leave and parole, it should be provided within a week. The prisons DGP should issue instructions to prison authorities in this regard. The registry has also been asked to forward a copy of the verdict to the state police chief and the jail DGP for issuing appropriate instructions.

The directions of the single bench came in plea seeking temporary parole for a prisoner who got a house as part of the LIFE scheme to complete the procedure. Rema, the wife of Irumpan Manoj aka Manoj, who is serving a life sentence in Viyyoor Jail, has approached the High Court with the demand that her husband be granted parole. Earlier, the jail authorities were approached but the demand was rejected. But the government informed that the district police chief has given a report that granting parole to Manoj is a threat to his life and no work is being done to build a house. They have been allotted a house in Edavilang Village, Kodungallur. The High Court said that such a report was strange.

"Prisoners are human too. They are also worried about their family and home. The Thrissur district rural police chief is not entitled to continue in his post if he cannot save the life of the prisoner who is on parole.," the court said while directing to grant parole to Manoj.

High Court refer to the 'prisoner in Mathilukal'

The High Court said that despite having good food, accommodation and security, a prisoner is still a prisoner and their difficulties and hardships can only be understood by them. The court also quoted a passage from Vaikom Mohammed Basheer's 'Mathilukal' in the judgement.