[Breaking] Remand Accused To Custody Only If Tested Negative For COVID-19 : Rajasthan HC Orders After 128 Prisoners Turn Corona Positive

In a special sitting held on Sunday on a suo moto case, the Rajasthan High Court ordered that an accused person must be remanded to custody only after getting tested negative for COVID-19.

The direction was passed in a suo moto case registered on the basis of news reports of May 16 that approximately 55 prisoners, both convicts as well as under-trials at Jaipur District Jail were detected corona positive.  The Court also noted that as per the latest news reports, the numbers of positive corona cases which were reported in Jaipur District Jail itself had gone upto 128 inmates(out of 423 inmates) within past 48 hours. 

A bench comprising Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Ashok Kumar Gaur passed the following directions :

(1) We direct the State Government to incorporate for the COVID-19 SOP for jails the requirements of having an accused being tested by local medical authorities for corona virus and if found negative, only then allow such accused person to be remanded to jail custody/police custody.

(2) After the accused is tested prior to his/her entry into the jail premises or police custody, the accused we are informed spend a period of 21 days in Isolation Ward segregated separately from the General Ward for inhabitants of the jails. The jail authorities must ensure that prior to releasing such prisoners from isolation, they must be once again presented before the local medical authorities for check up again to verify whether that prisoner has developed any symptom of corona virus and also carry out RT-PCR test to cover also possible asymptomatic prisoner. Once such clearance is obtained from the medical authorities, the jail authority may shift such prisoner or under-trial to the General Ward.

(3) The jail authorities who are in direct contact with such prisoners in isolation also require special attention to ensure that such virus is not transmitted to them or their families and authorities will ensure test of jail staff and their family members on a regular random basis, at least fortnightly.

(4) The medical officers of each district shall inspect the Isolation Wards in the jails and suggest the jail authorities to take out whatever steps may be necessary for maintaining cleanliness and sanitization necessary for keeping such persons in the Isolation Wards.

(5) Jail doctors must be made available for checking the prisoners in Isolation Wards for their general checkup on day-today basis. The jail doctors shall ensure visit to the Isolation Wards and checkup of the prisoners in such wards everyday and record the same.

 The Court also directed committees to be formed consisting of the (i) Secretary, DLSA or TLSA, (ii) CMHO and/or its representative and (iii) President or Secretary of the local Bar Association. This team shall visit each jail within their respective districts, Central Jail/District Jail/ Sub Jail and they shall check and verify the status of each jail vis-a-vis parameters set up by the Union of India, the State of Rajasthan as well as in the publication made by the RSLSA, in particular all suggestions regarding public health within the jail premises.

The bench noted that the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority(RSLSA) have prepared a report on the jails of Rajasthan and have made certain specific suggestions regarding maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene for the purpose of maintaining public health within the jails.

In all there are 20000 prisoners in all over Rajasthan lodged in various Jails, as against capacity of 22000, the bench was told by the Advocate General, M S Singhvi. 

"We hope and trust that the directions issued hereinabove, will be carried out by the State Government both in letter and spirit in order to ensure that health of inmates of jails during the present pandemic is protected to the extent possible", observed the Court, while posting the case next on May 27.

The Advocate General told the bench that there were in all 423 inmates in District Jail, Jaipur and other staff. All have been tested for Covid-19 and 119 were reported positive, 9 positive previously. One Jail Superintendent was also be reported to be positive. 

To avoid overcrowding in prisons in the wake of COVID pandemic, the Supreme Court had on March 23 directed all states and Union Territories to set up high level committees to determine class of prisoners who could be released on parole for four to six weeks

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