West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992
No: 32 Dated: Jun, 13 1997
THE WEST BENGAL CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ACT, 1992
West Bengal Act XXXII of 1992
An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to prisons and persons detained therein in West Bengal.
Whereas it is expedient to amend and consolidate the law relating to prisons and persons detained therein in West Bengal and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto ;
It is hereby enacted as follows :-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may by notification appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "after-care service" means the activity aimed at financial rehabilitation of released prisoners as normal and good citizens ;
(b) "confinement" means confinement in a correctional home, and includes detention therein under any law providing for preventive detention ;
(c) "correctional home" means any place used permanently or temporarily under the orders of the State Government for detention of persons, whether under-trial or convicted, in accordance with any order for confinement under any law providing for preventive detention or any other law for the time being in force, but does not include a place for confinement of a person under the custody of the police ;
(d) "correctional services" means the services maintained by the State Government for proper management, administration and functioning of correctional homes ;
(e) "court" means a court established by any law for the time being in force, and includes any officer or authority vested with the powers of exercising civil or criminal jurisdiction under any law for the time being in force ;
(f) "habitual offender" means a prisoner who having been convicted for an offence of theft, robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, abduction, extortion or misappropriation of public money or property or for an offence punishable under the Bengal Excise Act, 1909 or the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 or the Bengal Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1933 or on a charge of adulteration of food or medicine or carrying trade in illicit transport of goods or illicit sale of contraband goods, is again convicted on a charge of any of the aforesaid offences ;
(g) "history-ticket" means the ticket exhibiting such information as is required in respect of a prisoner by or under this Act or the rules made thereunder ;
(h) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(i) "offence" means an act punishable under any law for the time being in force with imprisonment, whether substantive or in default of a fine or in default of furnishing security ;
(j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(k) "prisoner" means a person confined in a correctional home under a writ, order or warrant made by a court or authority under any law for the time being in force ;
(l) "prohibited article" means an article the introduction or removal of which into or out of correctional home is prohibited by or under this Act or the rules thereunder ;
(m) "rehabilitation assistance" means financial or any other assistance given to a released prisoner for the purpose of his rehabilitation into the society as an ordinary citizen ;
(n) "remission" means the period to be deducted in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder from the total period of sentence imposed on a prisoner ;
(o) "rule" means a rule made under this Act.
CHAPTER II
Establishment of different categories of correctional home
3. Establishment of different categories of correctional home. - (1) The State Government shall by notification establish the following categories of correctional home :-
(a) central correctional home ;
(b) district correctional home ;
(c) special correctional home ;
(d) subsidiary correctional home ;
(e) correctional home for women ;
(f) open correctional home ;
(2) A central correctional home shall affiliate to itself a district correctional home or special correctional home or subsidiary correctional home or correctional home for women in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) The State Government shall by notification determine the number of any category of correctional home and the place at which correctional home shall situate.
(4) An open correctional home shall not be surrounded by any boundary wall and shall be used for confinement of such long-term prisoners and on such conditions as may be prescribed, for giving such prisoners more liberty and more opportunity of association with the social life outside a correctional home and facilitating their after-release rehabilitation.