GANDERBAL, JANUARY 31: Reaffirming its commitment to constitutional guarantees, reformative justice, and access to justice for incarcerated persons, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Ganderbal, conducted a high-impact legal awareness programme on the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) governing Parole, Furlough, and Premature Release at Central Jail, Srinagar.
The programme aimed at empowering inmates with clear, actionable legal knowledge regarding their rights, eligibility criteria, and procedural safeguards, thereby dismantling information barriers that often impede timely access to statutory release mechanisms. The initiative sought to ensure that liberty-based entitlements are exercised lawfully, transparently, and without arbitrariness, in consonance with constitutional mandates.
The programme was organised under the guidance of Shazia Tabasum, Member Secretary, J&K Legal Services Authority, and Abdul Nasir, Chairman, District Legal Services Authority, Ganderbal, with effective coordination by Sheikh Babar Hussain, Secretary, DLSA Ganderbal.
The initiative was conducted in strict conformity with the Calendar of Activities issued by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the Jammu & Kashmir Legal Services Authority (J&K LSA), reflecting a policy-aligned, rights-oriented, and outcome-driven approach towards strengthening prison justice reforms.
Tanveer Ashraf, Romani Syed, and Burjeena Hamid served as Resource Persons and delivered a comprehensive and jurisprudentially grounded exposition of the SOPs relating to parole, furlough, and premature release. The sessions clearly articulated the distinct legal character and objectives of each mechanism.
The Resource Persons meticulously explained the eligibility thresholds, statutory exclusions, procedural safeguards, and the multi-layered scrutiny process, including the role of prison administration, police verification, conduct and probation reports, and decision-making by competent authorities. Emphasis was laid on procedural timelines, maintenance of jail discipline, and compliance with prison rules, reinforcing that SOPs are designed to ensure uniform application of the law.
Special emphasis was laid on the availability of free and competent legal aid through the Legal Services Authorities framework, thereby reinforcing the constitutional promise of equal access to justice for under-trial prisoners and convicts.
The programme witnessed robust engagement from inmates, who actively participated and sought clarification on individual legal issues. The initiative was widely appreciated for its legal depth, practical orientation, and rights-affirming approach.
The District Legal Services Authority, Ganderbal, reiterated its steadfast commitment to constitutional morality, human dignity, and reformative justice, and to advancing a transparent, humane, and rights-based correctional justice system through sustained legal awareness, institutional outreach, and prisoner-centric interventions.