NEW DELHI: Following the Supreme Court directive to cut on the prison population of the overcrowded jails, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a high-level committee, headed by a Delhi High Court judge, has directed authorities to take steps like releasing inmates on emergency parole.
The committee headed by Justice Hima Kohli of the Delhi High Court deliberated on means of achieving social distancing and resolved to quarantine fresh inmates who are foreign nationals, isolate those with flu or fever symptoms, conduct regular medical examination of the prisoners, release (those eligible) inmates on emergency parole and to grant special remission of sentence to those who have six months or less jail term left to serve.
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The decision by the committee was taken in a meeting held via video conferencing with officials of DG Prisons, Delhi State Legal Services Authority and Home department of the Delhi government.
In the meeting, it was resolved that the process of granting eight-week parole to around 1,500 prisoners would be completed expeditiously.
It was also resolved to relax category of undertrial prisoners (UTPs) who can be released on interim bail to further reduce the jail population. However, UTPs undergoing trial in drug cases, sexual assault of children, rape and acid attacks, foreign nationals, accused in corruption and those under investigation in terror, anti-national activities, would not be considered for interim bail, the committee resolved.