55. Power to release certain prisoners temporarily.—
(1)The State Government or any authority to which the State Government may delegate its power in this behalf may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, release temporarily for a period not exceeding ten days in a year (excluding the time required for journeys and the days of departure from and the arrival at prison) any prisoner who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than three years.(2)The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to a prisoner who has been classified as habitual criminal for the purposes of this Act and who has had more than three convictions.(3)No person shall be released under sub-section (1) unless,—(a)he has at the time of his release served one half of his sentence including remission or a period not less than two years of sentence including remission, whichever is less;(b)his conduct in prison has been good;(c)twelve months have elapsed from the date of the expiry of the period of his previous release, if any, under this section.(4)The period of release of a prisoner under sub-section (1) shall not count towards the total period of his sentence.
