Prisoners

The Supreme Court on March 1 refused to extend bail to 2,674 prisoners from Delhi who were released to decongest jails, following the COVID-19 outbreak. The apex court has ceded the convicts, 15 days to surrender before the jail authorities. While prisoners contested that cells are still overpopulated, with 17,000 inmates against sanctioned 10,000, the bench maintained that it would deal with overcrowding later. However, the Court asked to… read-more

The Delhi High Court's order cancelling extension of interim bails and stays has made jail authorities concerned over COVID-19 outbreak in prisons. The court has asked the undertrials to surrender between November 2-13 in phased-manner. The authorities believe, after return of 2,200 inmates, overstressed jails will be more prone to COVID-19. Earlier, a petition had alleged people accused in 'Delhi-riots cases' were misusing the court's orders… read-more

According to the data released by Maharashtra State Prison Department on September 23, around 2,061 inmates and 421 jail staff have been diagnosed COVID-19 positive. While six inmates and five staff passed away due to the virus, over 1,767 inmates and 372 staff have recouped. Pune's Yerawada Central Prison was identified as the highest contributor with 261 inmates and 43 staff testing COVID-19 positive.