In commemoration of the 80th Independence Day on August 15, the Government of Nagaland granted remission of sentences to specified categories of prisoners convicted by Courts, other than Court Martial, having criminal jurisdiction in the State of Nagaland and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment.
The remission was granted by the Governor of Nagaland in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 161 of the Constitution of India, through an order issued by the Home Department, Government of Nagaland. The order provided for remission to eligible categories of prisoners lodged in jails in Nagaland and outside the State, subject to the conditions and exclusions specified therein.
The scale of remission was prescribed according to the length of sentence. Prisoners sentenced to 10 years and above were granted 30 days’ remission, those sentenced to 5 years to 10 years were granted 20 days’ remission, those sentenced to 1 year to 5 years were granted 10 days’ remission, while prisoners sentenced to up to 1 year were granted 5 days’ remission.
The order stated that the remission would not be admissible in respect of prisoners whose sentence was inflicted for an offence against, or an order referred to in, Section 473 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, or passed under any law relating to which the executive powers of the Central Government extended.
The remission was also not admissible to certain categories of convicted prisoners. These included prisoners convicted under the Foreigners Act, Passport Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act; prisoners convicted under Sections 3 to 10 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923; and prisoners convicted under Sections 2 to 3 of the Criminal Amendment Act, 1961.
The excluded categories also included prisoners convicted under Sections 121 to 130 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 107 and 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), as well as prisoners convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Prisoners convicted of rape, attempt to rape or assault on women were also excluded from the remission.
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Further, convicted prisoners found violating jail rules and discipline were not eligible for the benefit. This included prisoners found involved in threatening, intimidating, quarrelling with or beating fellow prisoners or jail staff, as well as those involved in smuggling contraband and prohibited articles. Foreign nationals convicted under any Act were also excluded.
In another order issued by the Home Department, the Governor of Nagaland also granted remission to 29 eligible convicted prisoners lodged in various jails in the State. The remission was granted consequent upon the proposal submitted by the Director General of Prisons, Nagaland.
As per the order, the remission was granted to eligible convicted prisoners lodged in various jails across the State and was to take effect from August 15, 2026.
Among the jails, Central Jail, Dimapur had the highest number of convicts receiving remission, with 9 prisoners, followed by District Jail, Mon with 6 prisoners and District Jail, Mokokchung with 5 prisoners. District Jail, Kohima had 3 prisoners, while District Jail, Longleng and District Jail, Phek had 2 prisoners each. District Jail, Tuensang and District Jail, Wokha had 1 prisoner each eligible for remission.
In total, 29 convicted prisoners across eight jails in the State were granted remission. No prisoners were listed for remission from District Jail, Dimapur, District Jail, Kiphire, District Jail, Peren and District Jail, Zunheboto.
The remission orders were to take effect from August 15, 2026, coinciding with the celebration of the 80th Independence Day.
