Short Essay on the Repatriation of Prisoners – Since the issue of repatriation of foreign prisoners in Indian jails and vice-versa finds no place in the Indian Penal Code or in the Criminal Procedure Code of India, it was a matter of concern to the Government of India and foreign governments.
It was felt that it was more appropriate if the foreign convicted nationals were transferred to their own countries to serve their remaining jail terms.
It made sense because then the prisoners could be visited by their family members and their jail term would not be any harder than those imposed on other similar offences in the prisons of their home country.
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Parliament of India, thus, enacted the Repatriation of Prisoners Act in 2003 for transferring the prisoners to their own country and vice-versa.
Under the Act the request for transfer is to be made by the convicted prisoner on grounds of age or physical or mental condition and such request is to be granted only when the receiving and transferring State agree.
The repatriation of prisoners can be effective only when the judgment for the offence of a prisoner is final. A pending case cannot be considered for repatriation. The enforcement of the sentence is governed by the law of the receiving State.
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Repatriation, however, cannot be made if the transferring State opines that the request would prejudice its sovereignty, security, national interest, and if the convict is convicted under the military law of the transferring State and the death penalty has been awarded to the convicted person in the transferring State.