The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and 18 states on releasing prisoners who are terminally ill or over the age of 70 on bail to receive the required care which may not be possible in jails due to overcrowding.
The court took up the plea of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) which found 456 prisoners (including undertrials) who fall under these two categories in jails across the country. Of these, there were 13 terminally ill convicts and 84 elderly convicts who were sentenced by lower courts.
Posting the matter for May 19, the bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed responses to be filed by Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, NCT of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha.
The NALSA petition, filed by advocate Rashmi Nandakumar, said that the issue of release of old and terminally ill prisoners, besides fulfilling a humanitarian concern, will help ease the pressure on prisons.
As of December 31, 2022, the occupancy rate in India’s prisons was 131%, according to NALSA.
Such prisoners also require specialised care and individual attention which is not possible in the jail environment, the petition said.
The petition highlighted some recent cases, including that of a 93-year-old woman incarcerated in Karnataka whose plight prompted intervention from the District Legal Services Authority.
Similarly, bail was secured for a terminally ill undertrial by the High Court Legal Services Committee before the Calcutta High Court.
The NALSA is a statutory body in India established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free and competent legal services to weaker sections of society. It also organises Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. Earlier, the CJI-led bench sent the plea to the bench headed by Justice Nath for adjudication.