COVID-19 surge | Supreme Court orders immediate de-congestion of prisons

Orders released inmates to be transported home so they do not violate curfew/lockdown

The Supreme Court has turned a humanitarian eye on the over four-lakh prison population inside overcrowded jails even as the second wave of the pandemic continues its devastating run across the country. “India has more than four lakh prison inmates. It is observed that some of the prisons in India are overburdened and are housing inmates beyond optimal capacity…. The requirement of decongestion is a matter concerning the health and right to life of both the prison inmates and the police personnel working,” the Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, and comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Surya Kant, stressed. In a 14-page order released on Saturday, Chief Justice Ramana’s Bench ordered the police to take a leaf from the apex court’s judgment in the Arnesh Kumar case and limit arrests during the pandemic to prevent over-crowding in jails; especially not to order detention in a mechanical manner in cases involving punishment of less or upto seven years’ imprisonment.