Submit report on testing facilities in prisons within 2 weeks: HC to state

In an affidavit filed before Bombay high court (HC), Maharashtra prisons said that in order to house each prisoner in a space measuring 40 square feet as per the

In an affidavit filed before Bombay high court (HC), Maharashtra prisons said that in order to house each prisoner in a space measuring 40 square feet as per the prison manual, 15,771 inmates would have to be released. The affidavit was filed on HC’s direction, responding to a plea that sought information on the health status of convicts and undertrials in state prisons. It also said three inmates have died of Covid-19 in state prisons so far.

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Three separate petitions, including one filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), have sought the court’s intervention to decongest state prisons. According to the report on actions taken to contain the spread of Covid-19 in prisons, prison authorities stated that as of May 25, 8,407 inmates have either been released on parole or bail. Prisons are also functioning with half their medical staff at present. The affidavit said also three inmates were asymptomatic carriers who tested positive for Covid-19 after they passed away in May.

The authorities did not specify what tests were carried out to identify Covid-positive inmates, which prompted the division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice KK Tated to ask prosecutor Deepak Thakare if the inmates of Arthur Road Mumbai Central Jail who may have come in contact with the 158 who tested positive for the infection, have been tested for Covid-19. Arthur Road jail has the highest number of Covid-19 cases among the six prisons in Maharashtra that have reported Covid-positive inmates. The other prisons are in Yerwada, Taloja, Dhule, Satara and Byculla.

The court also directed the state to inform relatives of those infected in Arthur Road jail of their health status. The state has been given two weeks to submit a report on testing facilities in all jails.

Public prosecutor Deepak Thakare informed the bench through video conferencing that approximately 8,000 inmates out of the 37,000 currently lodged in various jails had been released on interim bail or parole. Another 14,000 would be released once concerned magistrates heard the bail applications. The division bench directed magistrates across the state to expeditiously hear interim bail applications filed by jail authorities.

PUCL, represented by senior counsel Mihir Desai, informed the court that relatives and advocates of inmates were anxious as they did not know the health status of those in jail. Thakare said that arrangements for video calling were being made and in the meanwhile, inmates could speak to their family/advocate once a week over telephone.

Desai also asked what initiatives have been taken by jail authorities to conduct regular Covid-19 tests among inmates.

With regards to money orders for inmates, which have stopped during the lockdown, the state said jail superintendents were asked to open a bank account in their names to allow relatives to deposit money for inmates. The deposited amounts would be disbursed by the superintendents and are meant to buy essential supplies available in the jail store.