Ensure release of prisoners languishing unnecessarily in jails: HC

Chennai: The Madras High Court has asked its Registrar General to ensure that the process for release of prisoners languishing unnecessarily in jails was accelerated by completing the formalities.

Filing of necessary petitions through the Legal Aid Services before the competent court should also be ensured.

A division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and M Jyothiraman passed the order on Monday on proceedings initiated by it.

In its order, the bench said the Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that as per the prison department, 153 remand prisoners were still languishing in various prisons across Tamil Nadu even after grant of bail.

As many as 22 convict prisoners were also in prison after suspension of sentence by the appellate courts. The Additional public prosecutor also submitted that there was delay in receiving the bail orders from the District courts. He submitted that as far as the High Court was concerned, order copies were received immediately, the bench added.

The bench said in this regard, it was necessary to implead the Registrar General to ensure that the process in this regard were accelerated to ensure that the prisoners languishing unnecessarily in prisons stand released by completing the formalities and by filing necessary petitions through the Legal Aid Services before the competent Court.

The Chief Secretary, Government of Puducherry was also impleaded as respondent, the bench added.

The bench said the Member Secretary, Legal Services Authority submitted that swift action will be taken in coordination with the High Court Registry and necessary legal aid assistance will be provided to the prisoners across the State, so as to ascertain the number of prisoners languishing in prison even after grant of bail or suspension of sentence, as the case may be, after completing necessary formalities.

The bench said the Tamil Nadu government has issued a GO dated February 5, 2024, implementing the Central Government scheme for “providing financial assistance to poor prisoners” in the State.

The details regarding the assistance already provided and the pending cases were also to be furnished before this Court, and all necessary steps were directed to be taken to ensure that the eligible prisoners get the benefit of the said scheme as per the government order.

The authorities were expected to complete the said effort as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of three weeks and report before this Court on January 6, 2025, the bench added.