COVID-19: Delhi HC to consider recommendation on interim bail extension

A high-power committee has recently recommended that the interim bails of 2,177 undertrial prisoners should be further extended as it would be dangerous to put them back in jail during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Registrar General, through a press statement, said that "as per the verbal directions received from Hon'ble Chief Justice, the matter be placed on May 9 before the Division Bench of HMJ Siddharth Mridul and HMJ Talwant Singh".

The committee headed by a Delhi High Court judge Justice Hima Kohli, through a press release, stated that the period of interim bail so granted to these prosoners shall start expiring on or after May 9.

"Considering the fact that the situation of pandemic as on date is still the same and taking into account paucity of space in jail premises to create sufficient number of isolation wards, so as to keep all the prisoners coming back after expiry of their interim bail separate, from other inmates to prevent spread of COVID- 19, it is recommended that this period of interim bail should be further suitably extended", it added.

The committee felt that moving separate applications for each undertrial seeking extension of "interim bail" would be cumbersome and would lead to wastage of judicial time. It recommended that the High Court extend this period of "interim bail" for a further period of at least 45 days.

( With inputs from IANS )