On Monday, the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court said the emergency parole granted in view of the Covid-19 pandemic to decongest jails would be “automatically extended” till the government withdraws the May 8 decision, and that inmates, who have been granted the same, need not formally apply for extension.
The May 8 notification issued by the state home department amended the Maharashtra Prisons (Furlough and Parole) Rules, 1959, and allowed prison authorities to release inmates on emergency parole in view of Supreme Court guidelines to decongest jails.
The decision excluded prisoners convicted under special laws, including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), and Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, among others.
On September 14, a division bench of Justice T V Nalawade and Justice M G Sewlikar made these clarifications while hearing pleas filed by six inmates of Paithan and Visapur open prisons in Aurangabad and Ahmednagar districts, through advocate Rupesh Jaiswal.
The bench noted that the May 8 notification had mentioned that the initial period of parole would be 45 days and should stand extended periodically in blocks of 30 days each, until the notification is in force.
The court noted, “When there is automatic extension of parole period, there is no need to give an application every time the period expires. In view of lockdown and the object behind the notification, no other interpretation is possible.”
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