Tihar Jail authority releases 400 inmates to decongest prisons

The Tihar Jail authority has released over 400 inmates to reduce overcrowding in prisons to prevent the spread of coronavirus, officials said on Saturday. According to a senior jail official, 356 inmates were released on bail, while 63 inmates were released on emergency parole. The interim bail is for 45 days and emergency parole is for eight weeks, the official said. Earlier on Monday, the prison authorities had said they were planning to release around 3,000 prisoners to ease congestion in jails due to the COVID-19 threat. Hardened or dangerous criminals will not be released, they had said.

According to the order, prisoners convicted or charged for offenses carrying jail terms of up to seven years can be given parole. The Supreme Court had on March 23 directed all states and Union Territories to constitute high-level committees to consider releasing on parole or interim bail prisoners and undertrials for offenses entailing up to seven-year jail terms to decongest prisons in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.