Ponder over house arrest to avoid choking of prisons, Supreme Court tells legislature
The Hindu
Bench, in a judgment, highlights ‘alarming’ statistics of prisons
The Supreme Court has thrown open the door to the legislature to “ponder” over the idea of placing convicts under house arrest to avoid overcrowding of prisons. A Bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and K.M. Joseph, in a judgment, highlights the “alarming” statistics of prisons. The suggestion is relevant considering the spread of COVID-19. A few days ago, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana issued a series of directions, including the grant of interim bail and parole to prisoners to decongest prisons. Justice Joseph said the occupancy rate in prisons climbed to 118.5% in 2019. The court refers to the National Crime Records Bureau’s figures of 2019 to show that 18,86,092 inmates were admitted in jails. The number of undertrial prisoners in 2019 was 3,30,487, which in fact constituted 69.05% of the total number of prisoners. Secondly, a very large sum (₹6818.1 crore) was the budget on prisons. The “tremendous” overcrowding of prisons and the huge budget were both “relevant in the context of the possibilities that house arrest offer”, the court noted.More Related News