To safeguard the health and health rights of prisoners during the COVID19 pandemic, 45 organisations, including All India People’s Science Network, Health Action for Human Rights, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, and 187 professionals in the health and allied sectors, as well as concerned citizens from across India and outside, made an urgent appeal to revise the criteria for release of prisoners on bail or parole in order to decongest prisons during the pandemic.

They have urged the concerned authorities to give priority to age-related vulnerabilities of the prisoners. They also sought the release of prisoners in order to reduce overcrowding in prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Letters to the effect were sent out today (June 28) to Chief Justices of all Indian states and Union Territories, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA), State Prison Authorities and High Powered Committees (HPCs) constituted as per the Supreme Court of India Orders on March 23 last year.

Overcrowding in Indian Prisons was a long-standing issue, with under-trial prisoners constituting nearly 70 per cent of the inmates.

While the letter welcomed the measures already taken by the Supreme Court and HPCs for decongestion of prisons during the pandemic, these were found to be inadequate from a public health and human rights perspective. The measures were also not uniformly implemented across states and Union Territories.

The signatories urged the authorities to offer vaccination to all prisoners in a safe and non-coercive manner.

Apart from that, they have also made an appeal to treat all prisoners on par for release, irrespective of charges/offense, and modify the categories of prisoners to be considered for release. They hoped priority would be given to age, vulnerability and health status of the prisoners, especially the under-trial ones.

Amongst other things, the letter listed out the possible interventions to improve matters for the prisoners. 

Providing alternative forms of custody such as house arrest, open prisons; Linking up with health facilities to ensure treatment for those not released; improving living conditions in the prison, and implementing long overdue prison reforms — were some of the measures suggested.