Four prisoners have filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against members of a State-appointed high-powered committee for not releasing prisoners on emergency parole due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dilip Aapet (45), who is serving three years of imprisonment at Harsul Central Jail, Aurangabad, and three undertrials — Samir Kakani, Shrikant Joshi and Vijay Mule, who are lodged at Osmanabad jail — have moved the apex court through advocates Satish Talekar and Madhavi Ayyappan.
Recently, four prisoners, who were transferred from Yerwada jail to Satara district prison tested positive.
The petition said the committee consisting of the chairman of the State Legal Services, principal secretary of Home Department, and Director General of Prisons was constituted by the State government to determine which class of prisoners will be released. “On March 25, the committee directed that prisoners (both undertrials and convicts) who are accused of offences punishable with seven years or less, shall be released on temporary bail or parole as case may deem fit.”
The plea pointed out that all nine Central prisons in Maharashtra are overcrowded as there are 25,745 inmates against the sanctioned strength of 14,491. “In a letter dated April 20, the additional director general (prisons) stated that none of the prisoners in Maharashtra are affected by the novel coronavirus,” the petition said.
Meanwhile, a special leave petition (SLP) has been filed against the committee in the SC by Nitin Shelke and Madhukar Suryawanshi, who had been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, and were sentenced to six years. They are lodged at Harsul jail, where the number of inmates is 1,828, against the sanctioned capacity of 589.
“However, only 74 prisoners were released on temporary basis after a decision of the committee,” the SLP said.
The duo had also moved the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court seeking bail because of COVID-19. “The HC had directed that a representation be made to the committee, but it has been repeatedly failing to respond,” the plea alleged.
