In the first such move in the country, Andhra Pradesh will allow petty offenders to do community service instead of undergoing imprisonment.
The state cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft bill on A P Community Services of Offenders Act, 2007, providing for community service assignments for convicts in minor offences punishable with imprisonment of not more than a year.
A state-level community service committee, headed by a High Court judge, would be constituted to supervise implementation of the Act, Information Minister A Ramanarayan Reddy told reporters. “The new Act enables offenders to live with their families. This will also help divert energy from anti-social to socially acceptable activities,” the minister said.
However, the Act would not be applicable to persons convicted under the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the SC and ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, Reddy said.
The community service is the non-custodial punishment awarded by the court after conviction wherein the offender is required to perform unpaid work for benefit of the community, under supervision of community service officer.