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Covid-19: Delhi High Court Seeks Centre, Delhi Govt Response On Plea For Interim Release Of Non-Heinous Crimes' Prisoners

Shreya Agarwal

28 April 2021 3:57 PM IST

    • Covid-19: Delhi High Court Seeks Centre, Delhi Govt Response On Plea For Interim Release Of Non-Heinous Crimes Prisoners

    A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh of the Delhi High Court has sought response of the Centre, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government, the police and prison authorities on a plea by one Shobha Gupta seeking temporary release on bail or parole, of prisoners involved in non-heinous crimes, from the Central prisons in Delhi in view of an unrelenting surge...

    A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh of the Delhi High Court has sought response of the Centre, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government, the police and prison authorities on a plea by one Shobha Gupta seeking temporary release on bail or parole, of prisoners involved in non-heinous crimes, from the Central prisons in Delhi in view of an unrelenting surge in Covid-19 cases.

    The court has issued notice to and sought responses of the Ministries of Law and Health, Delhi Government, police, office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Director General of Prisons, by May 4.
    Adv Ajay Verma, appearing for the petitioners, who are three lawyers and one law student, pointed out the necessity of the temporary release stating that 190 inmates and 304 prison staff of the Central Tihar Jail had tested positive for Covid-19 in the fresh surge.
    The plea states that the total number of inmates in the three jails of Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini, "as on Apr 7 is 17,285 as against a total capacity of 10,026".
    The petitioners -- Advs. Shobha Gupta, Rajesh Sachdeva and Ayushi Nagar and law student Sanskritit Gupta -- have sought immediate release of "all the under trials and convicted prisoners on interim bail/parole with maximum imprisonment upto 7 years and fine (non heinous crime) in Tihar Jail, Mandoli Jail and Rohini Jail".
    They have also sought temporary release of prisoners who were previously released and those who have surrendered on the basis of good conduct and those who are suffering from any ailment.
    The plea points out that the Prison Statistics' data by the National Crime Record Bureau shows that prisons in Delhi are the most over-crowded in the country, with 174.9% occupancy.


    Tags
    Delhi High CourtCovid-19Delhi GovernmentChief Justice DN PatelJustice Jasmeet Singh
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