Kerala High Court seeks State response on preparedness to receive prisoners returning from parole amid COVID-19

The Kerala High Court today sought clarifications from the State on its preparedness to receive convicts released on parole earlier this year. (Habeeb CV v. State of Kerala, Subair PK v. State of Kerala, Josemon v. State of Kerala, Saidalavi @Bava v. State of Kerala).Justice VG Arun has directed the State to respond on the following aspects:.Prison-specific readiness and response plans formulated in consultation with medical experts if any;The number of inmates within prisons in the State, as of today;The number of prisoners positive who have tested positive for COVID-19 as of today;The facilities within prisons for the quarantine and medical aid of inmates;The number of casualties/fatalities among inmates;Data on the number of jail staff who have tested positive for the virus.Total capacity of every prison in the state.;.The High Court was hearing four petitions moved by on-parole prisoners challenging the State Government's orders requiring prisoners out on parole to return within 3 days from November 15. ."...I was hopeful that the government would come up with some further extension (of parole).." Justice Arun orally observed today..The Senior Government Pleader submitted that the Government would have "some difficulty in reconsidering the orders passed since the Model Code of Conduct had set in.".Kerala faces local body elections in the coming weeks..Appearing for a petitioner, Senior Counsel P Vijayabhanu pointed out that the MCC did not require that the prisoners be "shunted back to the jail". All that was required was that the Government had to consult the Election Commission before releasing prisoners on parole, he added..Giving the State and Director of Prisons till Friday to file its response, the matter was adjourned until then..The Government orders under challenge have been contended to be violative of the Supreme Court's March 23 pronouncement, whereby the top Court had asked all States to consider releasing prisoners facing sentences of up to seven years in order to decongest prisons in light of pandemic..The Chief Justice-led Bench of the Supreme Court had directed States to form a high-powered committee comprising the Principal Secretary of the Home Department, the Chairman of the State Legal Services Authority, and the Director General of Prisons to consider various steps for de-congesting the prisons..Coronavirus: Consider bail for all undertrials facing up to 7 years in jail to decongest prisons, Supreme Court to states.Averring that the decision to recall certain categories of prisoners back to prisons was made without a reference to the High Powered Committee, the High Court has been urged to set aside the order..Today, Senior Government Pleader Suman Chakravarthy admitted in Court that the decision was made without a reference to the High Powered Committee..The Counsel appearing for one of the petitioners submitted that around 21 persons who had already returned to prison were infected with COVID-19..Justice Arun stated record the submissions made and intimated that the Court would consider the matter at the next hearing on Friday after the State responded to the queries posed..The matter is therefore expected to be taken up on Friday, November 20.