Chandigarh: Special parole, special interim bail of prisoners extended

A special meeting of the committee was held under the chairmanship of justice Jaswant Singh of the Punjab and Haryana high court, who is also the executive chairman of the state legal services authority (SLSA), Ombir Singh, IG prisons, Chandigarh, and Ashok Kumar Mann, chief judicial magistrate-cum-secretary, district legal services authority (DLSA).

The high-powered committee has decided to extend the period of special parole and special interim bail for all prisoners who have been released due to COVID 19 till November 10, 2020. It has also asked the jail authorities to submit a plan on re-admission of prisoners, within 10 days.

According to the officials, “Considering the present situation, the jail authorities had requested that the period of return be extended for a reasonable time and in the meantime, they will come up with a detailed plan for readmission of prisoners into jail premises, avoiding any risk of spreading Covid-19 therein,”

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Justice Jaswant “agreed” to their request and has directed that detailed re-admission plan of convicted and undertrial prisoners to be submitted in the office of SLSA, Chandigarh, within 10 days.

The committee has further decided that to prevent outbreak of Covid-19 in jails, rapid antigen test of all arrested persons shall be conducted before admission into jail premises. And in case any arrestee is found COVID positive, he shall be admitted for treatment in the prisoners’ ward of Government Hospital (dedicated COVID Hospital) and he/she should be admitted into jail, only after recovery.

-PTC News