It must be stated right at the outset before stating anything else that in a welcome, worthwhile and wonderful development which shall undoubtedly benefit immensely the under-trial prisoners, the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh which is the apex body of the lawyers of the state has very commendably, courageously and convincingly written a very brief, bold, balanced and brilliant letter to the newly appointed Acting Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court – Justice Sanjay Yadav, thereby very rightly, remarkably and rationally seeking interim bail/parole for the under-privileged and under-trial prisoners/convicts keeping in view the terrible havoc unleashed by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Who can deny this that under-trial prisoners must be now given respite promptly by releasing them for some time so that they don’t get affected adversely and suffer irreparable, irreversible and incurable damages due to not being released in time from over-crowded jails? This alone explains that why the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh has very rightly, remarkably and rationally chosen to take a firm stand on this which under the present circumstances stands fully justified also.
While eloquently, elegantly and effectively pointing out the crux of the matter, the UP Bar Council Chairman – Rohitashwa Kumar Aggarwal very candidly, cogently and convincingly pointed out in his noteworthy letter which he wrote on April 20, 2021 pointing out that, “The print media and the electronic media is full of reports indicating doubling of infection during the last two weeks on account of overcrowding in jails across the Uttar Pradesh state. Scores of inmates have tested positive for the virus majorly due to flouting of social distancing norms occurring on account of congestion in jails.” This is certainly a matter of grave concern and has to be dealt with on a war footing. The lives of even inmates are precious and efforts must be made to save them which can be possible only if they are made to stay away from overcrowded jails.
No doubt, the UP Bar Council Chairman then further very aptly, adeptly and ably also puts forth that, “The only available solution to help the congestion and to avoid the spread of virus appears to be decongesting the prisons so that social distancing is maintained.” It merits no reiteration that this deadly disease which is spreading all over the world like a wild fire and has consumed more than 30 lakhs lives all over the world has to be combated, controlled and decimated by taking all the precautions by which the common person is protected from it. This is definitely most concerning and cannot be any longer put on the backburner. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and this is what the Chairman of UP Bar Council very rightly underscores in his applauding letter to the Acting Chief Justice of UP – Sanjay Yadav.
What’s more, Rohitashwa Kumar Aggarwal who is UP Bar Council Chairman also very simply, straightforwardly and suavely submitted in his letter that, “The need of the hour in such unprecedented circumstance of the pandemic calls for consideration of interim bail/parole for the under-trial/convict, not based upon legal considerations arising out of statutory right for bail, but more in the nature of human right to safeguard the life and health of the prisoners.” No person with right senses can ever question this. In such an hour of unprecedented crisis, it becomes all the more imperative to take such extraordinary steps so that the jail inmates can be saved from becoming a prey of this deadly pandemic!
Truth be told, what is most distinguishing in this letter is that while stating that the present letter is written with the concurrence of the majority of the members of the UP Bar Council, the Chairman of UP Bar Council then while striking the right chord also pointed out most commendably, cogently and convincingly that, “The Chief Justice is the guardian of fundamental rights and human rights of every citizen of the state, as such it is humbly prayed that judicial notice may be taken of the alarming situation on account of the pandemic of Covid-19 due to which the inmates/prisoners who are languishing in jail are suffering irreparably, firstly on account of spread of virus due to overcrowding of prisons and secondly, for not having access to speedy justice, apart from such prevailing conditions in jail which are not fit and proper for human life and safety due to the current scenario.”
It goes without saying also that when corona spreads so rapidly even among people who gather in rallies for a very short time and what is more even if someone comes in brief contact with someone anywhere like in a shop then we must think that what must be the condition of the jail inmates who reside in overcrowded jails day and night together. The conclusion is quite ostensible. This alone explains why the need has arisen when the Chief Justice of UP must step in and take some dedicated, determined and disciplined steps in this direction so that the lives of many jail inmates can be saved also!
Quite persuasively, pragmatically, prudently, penetratingly and also most powerfully, the Chairman of UP Bar Council then very rightly and remarkably urges as a humanitarian gesture that, “It is therefore humbly prayed that appropriate orders may be passed for releasing the under-trial prisoners/convicted persons who are facing trial or convicted to the maximum punishment of seven years or less, with or without fine, on interim bail/parole, to help decongestion of jails so as to contain the virus which in its second wave has divested the humanity or such further directions/orders may be passed by the high court as expedient in the interest of justice, especially under the prevailing circumstances.” This is the crying need of the hour also. Who can deny or dispute it?
While simultaneously, the letter by the UP Bar Council Chairman also further added that, “Or in the alternative the earlier directions passed by this high court in the light of the policy decision and recommendations of the state government may yet again be enforced, so as to safeguard the basic human rights, life and liberty of the inmates/prisoners who are languishing in jail across the state of Uttar Pradesh.” What is wrong in doing so? Nothing wrong. It is in fact the most pressing issue which cannot be allowed to lie unattended, unattended and unredressed!
Needless to say, the Chairman of UP Bar Council – Rohitashwa Kumar Aggarwal also very rightly relied on decision taken during the last corona wave when a high powered committee was constituted by the state government led by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a policy decision was taken to release the under-trial prisoners/convicts for the offences for which prescribed punishment was up to seven years or less which led to decongestion of jails across Uttar Pradesh thereby breaking the chain of virus and saving the lives of thousands of prisoners.” When this can be done last time then why not this time when the second wave is perhaps much more chillingly dangerous and life consuming? It must be done at the earliest.
To put things in perspective, according to the recently released India Justice Report 2019 (IJR), the state of prisons in India is most abysmal. We see across the country that the average occupancy is 114%. One plausible cause for this is the high number of under-trials housed in the prisons. In 2016, 67.7% of India’s prison population was under-trial prisoners; higher than it was a decade ago. It cannot be discounted that Uttar Pradesh alone contributed 23% to this number with over 68,000 under-trial inmates. To give a sense of the scale, this number is nearly two and a half times more than Bihar which is another state with over 50% under-trial inmates. In fact, in a district jail of Uttar Pradesh, the occupancy was a staggering 498%. According to the data available on the website of the UP Prisons Administration and Reform Services, at least 63 of the 72 jails across Uttar Pradesh are overcrowded, one of them as much as 498% of the capacity. The data further revealed that the total capacity of the UP jails was 60,305 but around 105,111 inmates were lodged in them. Now the figure must be even more higher.
All said and done, the Chairman of UP Bar Council – Rohitashwa Kumar Aggarwal who is also an eminent and senior advocate of Meerut Bar with wide ranging experience in criminal matters also and who has also donned the prestigious post of President of Meerut Bar five times apart from leading the High Court Bench agitation for West UP as its Chairman also and has an impeccable reputation of always leading from the front has very commendably, courageously and convincingly pointed out for the exclusive benefit of under-trial prisoners seeking interim bail/parole for under-trial prisoners/convicts keeping in view the terrible havoc unleashed by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no reason why what he has suggested so rightly, reasonably and remarkably and also most eloquently, elegantly and effectively not be given effect to most urgently. One must always remember to adhere to what the legendary former Justice of Supreme Court late VR Krishna Iyer always advocated very rightly that, “Bail is the norm and jail is the exception”!
One now fervently hopes that the Acting Chief Justice of UP – Sanjay Yadav too will seriously look into the matter and take an effective, efficient and elegant decision by which the under-trial prisoners who have been sentenced for not more than seven years would be able to benefit which is undoubtedly the crying need of the hour also! It brooks no more delay any longer. The decision if taken by the acting Chief Justice of UP – Sanjay Yadav in time will help ensure that many precious lives are saved from dying. This was the real purpose also for which the letter was written.
Sanjeev Sirohi