In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires: -(a)"civil prisoner" means any prisoner who is not a criminal prisoner;(b)“Competent authority” means any officer having jurisdiction andlegal authority to deal with a particular matter in question;(c)"convicted criminal prisoner" means any criminal prisoner under sentence of court or court-martial, and includes a person detained in prison under the provision of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973;(d)“Court” includes any officer lawfully exercising civil, criminal or revenue jurisdiction;(e)"criminal prisoner" means any prisoner duly committed to custody under the writ, warrant or order of any court or authority exercising criminal jurisdiction, or by order of a court-martial;(f)“Central Jail” means any prison in which criminal convicted prisoners are received, for the purpose of undergoing their sentences, by transfer from any other Jail and in which such prisoners are not, when committed to prison, in the first instance ordinarily received;(g)"Deputy Inspector General or Sr. Superintendent of Prisons" (hereafter referred as DIG / Sr.S.P.) means the Head of the Prison, whoever is appointed by the Government;(h)“district jail” means any prison to which prisoners from one or more district are in the first instance, ordinarily committed and includes every jail other than a Central Jail or a special Jail;(i)“detenu” means any person ordered to be detained and committed to a place of detention in the State by any authority acting in exercise of the powers conferred by such Act in the State;(j)“habitual offenders” means a person – who during any continuous period of five years whether before or after the commencement of the Act, has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment more than twice on account of the following offences: -(i)Offence mentioned in Chapter XII of the IPC, 1860 (Act, 45 of 1860)(ii)Offence punishable under the following section of the IPC (Act, 45 of 1860) U/s 379, 380, 381, 382, 384, 385, 386, 387, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400, 402, 406, 407, 409, 411, 412, 413, 414, 416, 417, 420, 421, 423, 436, 468 and 498 (A).(k)"history-ticket" means ticket exhibiting such information as is required in respect of each prisoner by this Act or the rules made there under;(l)“imprisonment” may be of two descriptions - (a) rigorous i.e. with hard labour and (b) simple without hard labour;(m)“inmates” means any person kept in an institution;(n)“institution” means a place where offenders are kept;(o)“Government” means the State Government of Sikkim;(p)“Jail Manual” means the manual for the Superintendence and management of Jail in the State of Sikkim;(q)“Medical Officer” means a doctor designated as such and appointed under this Act;(r)"offender" means a person who is accused of having committed an offence punishable under the law;(s)"offence" means any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force and shall also mean any act or omission contrary to the provisions of law, which has been made punishable;(t)"prohibited article" means an article which cannot be introduced or removed into or out of prison under this Act and rules framed thereunder;(u)“place of detention” means a Jail or other place in the State in which a detenu is ordered to be detained;(v)"prison" means any jail or place used permanently or temporarily under the general or special order of State Government for the detention of prisoners and includes all lands and buildings appurtenant thereto but does not include-(a)any place for the confinement of the prisoner who are exclusively in the custody of the police;(b)any place specially declared by the State Government under section 417 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or(c)any place, which has been declared by the State Government by general or special order, to be a subsidiary jail.(w)“remission” means the rule for the time being in force regulating the award of marks to and the consequent shortening of the sentences of Prisoners in Jail;(x)“rules” means a rule framed under this Act;(y)“Special Jail” means any prison provided for the confinement of a particular class or classes of Prisoners and classified as Special Jail by the Government;(z)“Superintendent” means the Superintendent of the Prisons as may beappointed by the State Government on deputation from Police Department.(aa)“Under Trial Prisoners” means a person who has been committed to prison custody with pending investigation or trial by a competent authority;
