The average percentage of occupancy in prisons across the State has been brought down to 95% from 110% by releasing 1,198 prisoners on temporary bail and parole, and shifting 575 prisoners from overcrowded prisons to less crowded ones for preventing spread of COVID-19, the State government told the High Court of Karnataka.
As many as 790 undertrial prisoners were released on temporary bail based on veracity of the charges against them on recommendation of a High Powered Committee (HPC), constituted as per the apex court’s guidelines to decongest prisons as a precaution. And 408 convict prisoners were released on parole, the government said in its statement.
The statement also said that 575 have been transferred from 12 of the overcrowded prisons in the six other prisons having lesser number of prisoners than the maximum capacity, and an additional temporary living space to house 1,471 prisoners in various prisons has been created since March 23.
With these measures, the government said, the average occupancy percentage in nine central prisons has come down to 100.79. Similarly, the average occupancy percentage in 21 district prisons is now 89.5 and in 16 taluk/revenue prison the occupancy percentage is 73 and the average occupancy percentage in all prisons is 95.1.
The occupancy percentage was reduced to 109 from 134 in Bengaluru prison, which at present has 4,914 prisoners against the capacity of 4,526 as on April 19. There were 5,046 prisoners against the capacity of 3,766 as on March 23 and additional capacity for 760 prisoners was created thereafter.
Prisons in Mysuru and Kalaburagi are the only two other central prisons having more number of prisoners than the capacity. The average occupancy percentage in Mysuru has been brought down to 107 from 155, and in Kalaburagi it was brought down to 119 from 165. Meanwhile, a special Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice B.V. Nagarathna, taking note of measures taken to prevent COVID-19 in prisons, pointed out that the undertrial prisoners can still file pleas to exercise their right to seek bail from the jurisdictional court even if the HPC had not considered them for release on temporary bail.
Screening
All new undertrial prisoners and those returning after expiry of parole are being screened for symptoms before admission, and they are kept in separate barracks for 10 days and shifted to regular barracks after further medical examinations, the government said.