With the Madras high court declining to stay the Tamil Nadu government's order granting them remission, as many as 1,405 life convicts were on Monday released from various prisons in the state on the occasion of the birth centenary of late chief minister C N Annadurai.
At the Puzhal prison near Chennai alone, a total of 117 life convicts, including six women, were set free.
Those released were given cash assistance and other utility machines like sewing machines to start a new lease of life.
Speaking on the occasion, DGP (Prisons) R Nataraj advised the convicts never to show up again at the prison even to visit acquaintances.
The state government last week decided to release the life convicts who completed seven years (five years for those above 60) in prison to commemorate the birth centenary of Annadurai, also the founder of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, but faced a roadblock when Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy moved the high court on Sunday challenging the decision.
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice A K Ganguly and Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifullah, at a special hearing at the former's residence, said the prisoners be released subject to the conditions imposed in the bond that they have to execute on their premature release.
The court has also directed the government to recall the prematurely released persons if Swamy won the case, the hearing of which had been posted to October 30.