Convicts, undertrials released during pandemic reluctantly return to Delhi jails

Hundreds of inmates who were out on emergency parole or interim bail have returned to their respective jails in Delhi

For nearly two years, Monu, 24, almost forgot what it meant to be a prisoner.

Arrested on a murder charge five years ago, Monu spent the last two years working at his father’s transport company after he was temporarily released in 2021. As his interim bail ended, he reluctantly returned to Tihar jail on Saturday.

Like Monu, hundreds of other inmates who were out on emergency parole or interim bail granted during the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in overcrowded prisons, have returned to their respective jails — Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini.

On March 24, the Supreme Court had ordered nearly 4,000 undertrial prisoners (UTPs) and convicts to surrender within the next 15 days after the Director General (Prisons) moved the top court seeking clarity on the process.

However, many of the prisoners and their kin are apprehensive about the conditions in the crowded cells, especially with the pandemic showing signs of a summer comeback.

“The interim relief gave me a chance to get my life somewhat back on track. I had started earning. But now that I have to go back, I’m worried. Moreover, COVID cases are also rising. How will we [inmates] survive in the cramped cells?” said Monu, who claims he was falsely accused in the case.

Another undertrial prisoner, Bhupendra, described the time spent in jail as “living in a box”. Like Monu, he too was arrested in a murder case in 2018 and given bail in May 2021.