Section 29 in The West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992
29. District Advisory Boards for Correctional Services.—
(1)The State Government shall by notification constitute a District Advisory Board for Correctional Services for each district (hereinafter referred to as the District Advisory Board) with the following members:—(a)ex officio members(i)the District and Sessions Judge;(ii)the Superintendent of the district correctional home;(iii)the District Medical Officer of Health;(iv)the District Probation Officer;(v)the Chief Medical Officer of Health of the district;(vi)the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the district;(b)non-official members(vii)one serving or retired Headmaster of a Higher Secondary School nominated by the State Government;(viii)five members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from the district, nominated by the State Government, of whom one shall be a woman and one shall belong to the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly;(ix)two social workers of the district, of whom one shall be a male and the other shall be a female, nominated by the State Government.(2)The District and Sessions Judge shall be the ex officio Chairman and the Superintendent of the district correctional home shall be the ex officio Member-Secretary of the District Advisory Board.(3)The District Advisory Board shall advise the District Magistrate—(a)on the matters concerning prevention, control and treatment of delinquency and crime within the district;(b)on the devising of ways and means for establishing greater co-ordination between the different offices of Government within the district;(c)on the measures for eradication of vices of corruption, smuggling, sexual depravity, and ill treatment of prisoners (including extraction of money from the prisoners’ relatives);(d)on the tackling of disturbances and riots in the correctional homes in the district, escape of prisoners from the correctional homes, concerted actions like strike or hunger-strike by prisoners or members of the staff and other emergent situation;(e)on any other matter of public interest.(4)The District Advisory Board shall hold at least six meetings in a year. In the case of outbreak of serious disturbances in any corrections home or elsewhere within the district, the Member-Secretary shall convene special meetings of the District Advisory Board and shall apprise the members of the details of the situation. The minutes of the proceedings of the meetings shall be recorded in the minute book.(5)The members of the District Advisory Board shall have right to visit any correctional home within the district and talk to or interrogate any prisoner. The officers of the correctional home concerned shall furnish any information as may be required by any member of the District Advisory Board during such visit. If any prisoner desires to speak privately to any member of the District Advisory Board during his visit so that no official may hear him, the Superintendent of the correctional home shall allow him such facility and the prisoner shall not be subjected to any rigor or victimization even if the prisoner gives any information which transpires to be incorrect.(6)Five members of the District Advisory Board shall form a quorum.(7)The non-official members of the District Advisory Board shall hold office for a term of three years from the date of the first meeting of the District Advisory Board after it is constituted and shall be eligible to be reappointed.(8)The non-official members of the District Advisory Board shall receive such allowances as may be prescribed.(9)The appointment of a member in a casual vacancy caused by death, resignation or otherwise, shall be notified in the Official Gazette.
