"Number Of Prisoners Being Inoculated Be Drastically Increased": Uttarakhand High Court Issues Direction On Prisoners

Dealing with a PIL filed regarding the state of prisoners amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday (May 6) issued a slew of directions.

The Bench of Conditions issued the following directions:

• The Jail Department and the Principal Secretary, Home / Prison, State of Uttarakhand, are directed to ensure that the number of the prisoners being inoculated is drastically increased.
• In fact, since most of the prisoners would be above the age of eighteen years, the inoculation of prisoners must be ensured by the State Government as expeditiously as possible, and preferably within one month from the date of this order.
• When a prisoner is being released, he must be subjected to a Rapid Antigen Test /RT-PCR test in order to ensure that he does not leave the jail premises as a Covid-19 positive case. For, there are great chances that such a prisoner, who is being released, may carry the virus with him, and may infect his family, in particular, and the society, in general.
• The High Powered Committee is directed to convene its meeting within a period of two weeks, and to review the cases of under-trial prisoners and the case of those, who have been convicted for offences punishable for less than seven years.
• It shall make its recommendations within two weeks from its meeting, since there is a possibility that this pandemic may continue for many months to come and since there are reports which show that India may face the third wave of Covid-19, which may continue even in the next year.
• The High Powered Committee is directed to meet once every month, and to review the cases of the present inmates, and to make its necessary recommendations.
• The learned I.G. Prison is directed to inform the Chairman, Bar Council of Uttarakhand about the existence of the "E-Mulakaat" portal.
• Furthermore, he is directed to ensure that sufficient hardware and software is available in the jails so as to permit the prisoners to converse with their counsel through the "EMulakaat" portal.
• The counsel for the State is directed to file a detailed report with regard to the implementation of the directions issued by this Court within a period of three weeks.