Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

Topic: Supreme Court on Overcrowding of Prisons

Why in News?

• In the wake of "unprecedented surge" in COVID-19 cases, the Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the immediate release of prisoners who were granted bail or parole last year.

Key Observations of the Court

• The bench observed that the decongestion of prisons housing around 4 lakh inmates across the country is a matter concerning "health and right to life of" prisoners and police personnel.
• The bench said that, those who were allowed to go out on bail in March last year by the high-powered committees (HPCs) of states and Union Territories (UTs) be granted the same relief without any reconsideration to avoid delay.
• Further the bench also directed that, those inmates who were granted parole, pursuant to our earlier orders, should be again granted parole for a period of 90 days in order to tide over the pandemic.
• There is a serious concern about the spread of COVID-19 in overcrowded prisons where there is lack of proper sanitation, hygiene and medical facilities and there is a requirement for effective management of pandemic from within the prison walls so as to defeat this deadly virus.

Background

• In March 23, 2020, the SC had directed all states and UTs to constitute HPC to consider releasing on parole or interim bail prisoners and the under trials for offences entailing up to 7-year jail term to decongest prisons in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Overcrowding of Indian Prisons

• According to the National Crime Records Bureau, as on 31 December, 2019, there were 4,78,600 inmates lodged in different prisons in India while they had a collective capacity to house only about 4,03,700 inmates.
• This means the number of prisoners was 118.5% of the prison capacity, the highest since 2010.
• Prisons in Delhi were the most overcrowded among all states and union territories – there were about 17,500 prisoners lodged in jails with a collective capacity of about 10,000, which is a prison overcrowding rate of 175%.
• Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand followed next in overcrowding at 168% and 159% respectively.
• In 2019, 69% of all prisoners were undertrials.