TMI Blog2020 (4) TMI 665X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate Legal Services Authority and certain guidelines were laid for release of certain categories of prisoners. The present case is a case where the allegations against the petitioners are in respect of section 132 of GST Act 2017 which is punishable for a maximum sentence of 5 years and that as per the policy cases of under trials charged with offences punishable for a sentence of up to 7 years could be considered. However, the offence assumes gravity in view of the colossal amount involved in the present case which is ₹ 20 crores appx. and is certainly a factor to be borne in mind while considering the release of the petitioner on interim bail. Infact the allegations are to the effect that the petitioners had forged bills and other ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... emic COVID-19 still looms large and since a policy has in fact been framed by the State Government for release of prisoners, the present petitioners deserve to be released on bail in terms of the policy . The learned counsel while referring to the policy(Annexure P-2) has submitted that as per the said policy the under-trials against whom cases have been registered for offences punishable for imprisonment for a period upto 7 years, are entitled to be released on bail and that the petitioners against whom a complaint has been filed under section 132 of GST Act 2017, which is punishable for a maximum sentence of 5 years, would be fully covered under the said policy. 3. Opposing the petition, the learned State counsel submitted that keeping ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s of prisoners. 6. Subsequently, vide order dated 13.4.2020, passed in I.A. No. 48260 of 2020 passed in SUO MOTU WRIT PETITION(Civil) NO.1. OF 2020, certain clarifications as regards order dated 23.03.2020 have been issued by the Supreme Court, the relevant extract of which reads as follows: By order dated 23.03.2020, we directed the States/Union Territories to constitute High Powered Committees which could decide which prisoners may be released on interim bail or parole during the pandemic (COVID-19). The purpose was to prevent the overcrowding of prisons so that in case of an outbreak of coronavirus in the prisons, the spread of the disease is manageable . The operative part of our order reads as follows: 'We direct ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cerned as follows: (i) The purpose of issuance of directions was to ensure that the respective States assess the situation in their prisons having regard to the outbreak pandemic and to consider release of prisoners on interim bail or parole to prevent overcrowding of prisons so that in case of an outbreak of corona virus in prisons, the spread of the disease is manageable. (ii) The nature of offence, the number of years to which a prisoner has been sentenced, the severity of the offence with which an under-trial is charged with or any other relevant factor, which the Committee may consider appropriate, would be the guiding factors for taking a decision. (iii) It has been clarified that the directions issued on 23.03.2020 were not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s no reported case of COVID-19 within jail premises and that the fresh entrants, if any, are lodged separately. 10. It was on 24th March that a complete lockdown for 21 days was imposed in the nation which stands extended up to 3rd of May. Till 24th of March there would have been a regular inflow of fresh prisoners in the jail consequent upon arrest in freshly instituted cases or on account of convictions recorded just before the lockdown. However, after imposition of lockdown in the entire nation, everything has come to a grinding halt and even the inflow of fresh inmates would have been drastically reduced. It is only when a person comes in contact with someone infected that there are chances of the other person contracting the virus. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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