SC Squashes Prison Admin Over Delay in Releasing Convict After Bail Order
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has announced a new scheme named FASTER (Fast and Secure Transmission of Electronic Records).
- By this, the Supreme Court will be able to transmit bail and other orders electronically to the jail authorities, district courts and high court for granting immediate bail.
- The court had taken suo-motu cognizance of the issue. It may be noted that in a jail in Uttar Pradesh, the jail authorities took four days to release the accused even after obtaining bail.
- Earlier, a bench headed by the CJI had ordered the police to limit arrests during the pandemic to decongest jails.
Prison Statistics in India
- According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in the year 2019, the total number of prisoners was 118.5 percent of the prison capacity, which was the highest since the year 2010.
- State-wise analysis shows that the number of states and union territories with overcrowded prisons increased from 18 in 2018 to 21 in 2019.
- In the year 2019, 69 per cent of all prisoners were under trials.
Recommendations:
- The Law Commission has recommended that under-trials, who have completed one-third of the maximum punishment for offenses of imprisonment up to 7 years, should be released on bail.
- The All India Committee on Prison Reforms, constituted in the year 1980, had recommended to the government the establishment and development of open prisons in each state and union territory.
Source – The Hindu
