Court takes suo motu cognisance of newspaper reports on rise in COVID-19 cases in jails
The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that currently around 35,124 prisoners were lodged in jails across the State and there were 188 COVID-19 cases among inmates and prison staff.
Advocate General (AG) Ashutosh Kumbhakoni appearing for the State informed a Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni that there were 47 jails across Maharashtra, and they had a capacity to lodge 23,127 inmates.
The Bench asked Mr. Kumbhakoni if a large number of inmates could be granted emergency parole to decongest prisons, and would it be possible to vaccinate those above 45 years of age?
The Bench further inquired if those arrested recently were tested for COVID-19 and then produced before the magistrate. The court also asked about the number of people arrested after the Chief Minister announced #BreakTheChain on April 13. The Bench wanted to know if…