A week after 158 prisoners tested positive for COVID-19 at Arthur Road Central Prison, the state-appointed high-powered committee has decided to release nearly 17,000 out of 35,239 prisoners from across the state on temporary bail.

The three-member committee includes Justice AA Sayed of the Bombay high court, Additional Chief Secretary (Prisons) Sanjay Chahande, and Director General of Prisons Sanjay Pande.

As a part of ongoing measures to contain the spread of the virus, the Supreme Court on March 23 directed the states to decongest their prisons. one among the suggestions made by the court was to release prisoners convicted of or charged with offenses attracting imprisonment up to seven years. Since April, 5,105 prisoners in Maharashtra are granted bail, while 3,017 are still within the process of being released.

In a meeting that persisted Monday, the committee asked the state to release another 9,520 inmates. When implemented, it'll bring down the entire number of prisoners by 17,642. The prisoners are going to be released for 45 days or until the lockdown is effective, whichever is a smaller amount. consistent with a representation made by the extra Director General of Prisons to the committee, the entire sanctioned capacity of state prisons is 23,547.

Meanwhile, Special military officer of Police (south region jails) Deepak Panday said nearly 1,000 inmates are likely to be released from Arthur Road prison and 500 from Byculla jail. He added that another 1,000 are going to be released from Thane jail. The affected inmates from Arthur Road prison were examined by doctors on Tuesday. Around 30 employees of the jail have also been infected.

While the committee has expanded the standards for relief to some prisoners with imprisonment for quite seven years, it's rejected a representation made by senior advocate Satish Talekar, seeking to incorporate prisoners under various special acts. These acts include the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, and therefore the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors, to name a few.

 While rejecting Talekar’s representation, the committee said the SC’s intention is to only decongest the prisons and to not release all the prisoners. It added that the apex court has allowed the state high-powered committees to “determine which class of prisoners are often released” while keeping in mind the nature and severity of the offense.

Inmates accused/convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, circulating counterfeit currency, and financial crimes also will still remain in prisons. Jail authorities are directed to isolate inmates older than 60 years and affected by comorbid conditions.