Prisoners Released On Parole During COVID-19 Must Surrender Within 15 days: SC

The Supreme Court has issued an important directive on Friday, ordering all prisoners who were released on emergency parole by the High-Powered Committee during the COVID-19 period based on Supreme Court orders to surrender within 15 days.

“All undertrial prisoners and convicts who have been released on emergency parole/interim bail pursuant to the recommendations of the High-Powered Committee in compliance with the orders passed by this Court must surrender before the concerned prison authorities within 15 days,” a bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar ordered.

The bench clarified that after the concerned prisoners surrender before the relevant prison authorities, the concerned undertrials will be able to apply for bail before the competent court, and their petitions would be assessed in accordance with the law.

Similarly, upon the surrender of concerned convicts released on emergency parole, it will be open for them, if so advised, to pray for suspension of their sentence before the concerned court in their appeals which might have been pending, which is also to be assessed in accordance with the law. The order was passed in the suo motu case In Re: Contagion of COVID-19 virus in Prisons.

During the first and second waves of the pandemic, the Supreme Court had passed the multiple rulings in the suo motu case for the grant of emergency parole to prisoners in order to avoid overcrowding of prisoners in 2020 and 2021.

The Court had ordered that High Powered Committees be formed in each state, consisting of the (i) Chairman of the State Legal Services Committee, (ii) the Principal Secretary (Home/Prison) by whatever designation is known, and (iii) Director General of Prison(s), to identify the classes of prisoners who can be granted emergency parole.