India News | Panel Has Discretion to Decide on Prisoners' Bail, Parole: HC
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said the high-powered committee set up by the Maharashtra government had the discretion to decide which prisoners were entitled to be released on temporary bail or parole amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mumbai, Aug 5 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said the high-powered committee set up by the Maharashtra government had the discretion to decide which prisoners were entitled to be released on temporary bail or parole amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar said no prisoner can claim right or entitlement to seek temporary release during the pandemic.
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The court was hearing a petition filed by social worker Medha Patkar through her NGO 'National Alliance for People's Movements' challenging an order passed by the High Powered Committee.
As per the order dated March 25, 2020, the committee had said those prisoners who have been convicted or are facing charges under special Acts or in serious offences, wherein the punishment is above seven years, are not entitled to be released on temporary bail or parole amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The petitioner's advocate S B Talekar had argued that the committee had exceeded its jurisdiction by classifying prisoners and it was infringing upon a person's fundamental right to equality.
The bench, in its order, however, noted that the principle of equality does not take away from the state the power of classifying persons for legitimate purposes.
"Equality before law does not mean that things which are different shall be treated as though they were the same," the court said.
The bench further noted that the committee had a discretion to determine the category of prisoners who would be entitled to be released on temporary bail or parole.
"It is clear that the HPC (high-powered committee) balanced the rights of the prisoners to maintain maximum possible distancing to contain the spread of COVID-19 as well as the rights of the society," the court said.
"It is fallacious to contend that inmates can claim an absolute right for release in a situation like the prevailing pandemic as if it were flowing either from the Constitution or any other statute," the court said.
Talekar also sought a direction to the concerned authorities to release prisoners convicted and sentenced to above seven years in jail on emergency parole without insisting that they should have been released in the past at least twice, either on furlough or parole.
On this, the court said the concerned authorities shall consider the parole pleas of such convicts and impose suitable stringent conditions.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)