Supreme Court calls for early release of eligible Convicts

To curb the spread of Coronavirus in overcrowded Indian jails, the Apex Court on Tuesday ordered probation boards to reconvene & consider the early release of eligible prisoners. It relied on its May 7 order for the release of prisoners serving light sentences on the grounds of right to life.

A plea filed by lawyer Sachin Yadav drew the court’s attention to the fact that many such prisoners were languishing in prison as these boards had not convened during the pandemic.

A bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao & Justice Aniruddha Bose felt it appropriate to direct the boards to continue working & consider remission pleas of prisoners entitled for premature release under the CrPC.

Yadav was represented by advocate Shoeb Alam, who referred to a May 7 order of the top court aimed at decongesting prisons during the pandemic that said prisoners charged with non-heinous crimes be granted interim bail or parole for 90 days.

The Bench said that “Though there is no mention of release of prisoners entitled to premature release under Section 432 & 433A of CrPC, it is directed that the competent authority — probation boards shall continue to proceed with the release of those prisoners who are entitled for premature release".

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