§ Major MILNERasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether Pandit Parmanand, who was convicted in the Lahore conspiracy case in 1915, is still in prison; what is the justification for imprisonment in the unsatisfactory conditions of an Indian prison for 21 years, whatever the crime; and may the Pandit now be released?
§ Mr. BUTLERParmanand was convicted in September, 1915, the main charges being those of abetting the waging of war and of collecting arms with the intention of waging war against the King, and was sentenced to death. The sentence was subsequently commuted to transportation for life, and so far as I am aware Parmanand is still in prison. I am unable to accept the suggestion in the second part of the question that conditions in Indian prisons are unsatisfactory. As regards the third part, I am bringing the hon. and gallant Member's question to the notice of the Punjab Government.