L.NAGESWARA RAO,J. - (1.) Application of impleadment is allowed. The applicant who was already permitted to intervene in the Suo Motu Writ Petition filed the above I.A.s seeking the following reliefs: i. Pass an order directing the High Powered Committees as constituted vide order dated 23.3.2020 of this Hon'ble Court to examine the current situation of risk of virus spreading in prisons and recommend release of prisoners on interim bail/parole based upon the situation in the concerned State. ii. Pass an order directing the State Legal Service Authorities to strictly adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures of National Legal Service Authorities on the functioning of the Undertrial Review Committees as adopted vide order dated 04.12.2018 in WP(C) 406 of 2013 in ReInhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons by this Hon'ble Court. iii. Pass an order directing the High Powered Committees/ High Courts to identify and release the vulnerable categories of prisoners on an urgent basis. iv. Pass an order directing the High Powered Committees / State Legal Services Authorities to periodically monitor the prisonwise occupancy rates in their respective States, and give a report of the same to this Hon'ble Court of the prison occupancy as on 31st March, 2021, and the prospective increase in occupancy rate on a monthly basis, in the format as annexed in Annexure A9. v. Pass an order directing the DG Prisons to publish the prisonwise occupancy rates of UTPs/ Convicts/Detenues on their website monthly. vi. Pass an order directing the High Powered Committees / monitoring teams to prioritise healthcare in prisons and scrutinise the prison specific readiness and response plans as directed by this Hon'ble Court vide its order dated 23.03.2020 in the present case. vii. Pass an order directing the State Governments/ Union Territories to undertake a vaccination drive in the prisons across their respective States/ Union Territories. viii. Pass any other order or further directions as this Court may deem fit or proper in the circumstances of the case.
(2.) On 11.03.2020, the World Health Organisation declared Covid19 as a pandemic. On 16.03.2020, 107 persons were tested positive for Covid19 in our country. Anticipating the spread of Covid 19 virus in overcrowded prisons, notices were issued to all the Chief Secretaries, Administrators, Home Secretaries, Director Generals of Prisons and Departments of Social Welfare of all the States and Union Territories seeking their response regarding immediate measures to be adopted for the welfare of inmates in prisons and juveniles lodged in remand homes.
(3.) On 23.03.2020, this Court directed the State Governments, Union Territories to constitute High Powered Committees to determine the class of prisoners who can be released on parole or on interim bail for appropriate periods. It was left open to the High Powered Committees to determine the category of prisoners who should be released depending upon the nature of offence, the number of years to which he/she has been sentenced, the severity of offences which he/she is charged with and the stage of trial or any other relevant factor which the Committee thinks appropriate. The HighPowered Committees were directed to take into account the directions contained in para no.11 of the judgment of this Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273. The HighPowered Committees were constituted in all the States, except a few. On the basis of recommendations made by the HighPowered Committees, a large number of prisoners were released either on interim bail or on parole.;