Earlier in the day, the AAP government had told the Delhi High Court that it had decided to decongest its prisons to check the spread of coronavirus by providing convicts with the options of special parole and furlough.
New Delhi: The Tihar Jail authorities have decided to release about 3,000 prisoners to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection as the number of positive case rise across the country. At least 1,500 convicts will be released under parole and furlough or under trial on interim bail.
According to the Health Ministry, there are 415 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in India with around 29 of them in Delhi. At least seven people have died in the country due to the virus.
Earlier in the day, the AAP government had told the Delhi High Court that it had decided to decongest its prisons to check the spread of coronavirus by providing convicts with the options of special parole and furlough.
The Delhi government told a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad that it was going to amend its prison rules to provide the options of special parole and furlough. The submission was made by the Delhi government’s additional standing counsel Anuj Aggarwal who said a notification would be issued within a day to amend the prison rules to include the two new provisions.
Taking note of the submission, the bench directed the Delhi government to take steps during the day to implement what it has proposed and disposed of a plea moved by two lawyers seeking decongesting of the prisons in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
The bench disposed of the matter on the submission made by the government and did not examine the matter further, saying a similar issue has been taken up by the Supreme Court on its own.
Source; News18
