STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: As the COVID-19 situation in the jails in the State continues to be grim, 893 inmates have been released on PR bond and bail since May 12, 2021. The prisoners have been released following the recommendation of the high-power committee constituted by the Gauhati High Court (GHC).
The released inmates are facing trial for petty crimes not amounting to heinous acts.
Notably, in petty offences, the maximum imprisonment can go up to 7 years, if convicted.
Currently from the Guwahati Central Jail, 144 inmates have been granted bail under the special circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, each district has an Under Trial Review Committee (UTRC) headed by a chairman who is the session judge. Further such committees after reviewing the list of inmates in their respective jails recommend the names to the high-power committee that gives the final recommendation for release.
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NEW DELHI: As many as 5,011 undertrials were lodged for more than five years in prisons across the country, with 42.74% of them just in Uttar Pradesh, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.
The statistics presented by Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha were based on a compilation of data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) updated till December 31, 2019.
A total of 5,011 undertrials were lodged in prisons for over five years, the minister said in a written reply to a query by CPI MP K Subbarayan.
Reddy stated that undertrials are detained as per the order of the courts and by following the due process of law, and that prisons and persons detained therein are state subjects.