LUCKNOW, Jan. 22 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed the Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary (ACS), home, to file a personal affidavit placing on record relevant data relating to prisoners who have completed 14 years of imprisonment and whose cases are eligible for consideration of remission of sentence. The court sought details of prisoners in whose cases statutory formalities, including preparation and forwarding of Form-A under the UP Prisoners' Release on Probation Act, 1938, have been completed. It also directed the state to disclose how many cases seeking remission are still pending before the competent authority, the duration of such pendency, and the reasons for delay. The affidavit will also have to specify the number of applications forwarded for consideration of remission and the number of cases in which remission has been granted, the court said. A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary passed the order on January 19 while hearing a PIL filed in 2020 by one Bijay Kumar Singh Parmar. "What steps are being taken by the state government to ensure orderly forwarding of Form-A and other applications for considering remission of sentence under the aforesaid statutes, so that a decision is taken in this regard at the earliest. What are the measures in place in this regard and whether periodical monitoring of such applications, etc. is being done or not," the court directed. The PIL raises issues concerning the alleged non-fulfilment of statutory obligations by jail authorities in facilitating consideration of remission of sentence for eligible prisoners lodged in UP jails. The petition refers to provisions under Sections 433 and 433-A of the CrPC, Section 474 of the BNS, 2023, the UP Prisoners' Release on Probation Act, 1938, and the Rules of 1938. The bench noted that although the state had filed a counter-affidavit (reply) in 2022, it did not contain the required data regarding prisoners who had completed 14 years of incarceration, the status of statutory formalities, or the pendency of remission proceedings. In view of this, the court directed the ACS (home) to file a fresh affidavit with complete details. The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 23, 2026, and will be taken up within the top 10 cases. manoj kumar singh...