By Sarah Hannan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a seven-member committee to explore the possibility of pardoning minor offenders so as to reduce the number of inmates in the prison system. According to statistics shared by the Department of Prisons, 26,000 individuals are currently placed in remand at prisons islandwide, while the capacity is only 15,000 inmates, given the present health and safety guidelines. Media reports claimed that the committee chaired by President’s Counsel (PC) Kalinga Indatissa, comprising Presidential Secretariat Director General – Legal Affairs Attorney-at-Law Harigupta Rohanadeera, Shavindra Fernando PC, Ministry of Justice Additional Secretary Piyumanthi Peiris, Attorney-at-Law Kaushalya Jayarathne, and Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya, had arrived at a decision to pardon inmates involved in minor offenses, in an effort to reduce congestion in prisons. The Morning contacted Committee Chair Indatissa to confirm. He said: "The committee is yet to take a decision and the report is yet to be compiled. We were to meet at the beginning of this week, however the meeting was postponed as the members could not come to an agreement on the terms presented."