Kareena Eugene
The Supreme Court has expressed its concern over the State not taking any decision and said it should be done within four weeks after such a Plea is filed.
The Uttar Pradesh Government has yet not decided the petitions by prisoners who have spent approximately 20 years in jail while undergoing life sentence in various prisons but whose Pleas for remission have not yet been decided.
A Bench of Justices Navin Sinha and Krishna Murari, agreeing to hear a Plea filed by 28 prisoners of Central Jail in Agra, seeking direction to the State Government to release them, asked the petitioner’s advocate Rishi Malhotra to serve the petition copy to the standing Counsel of Uttar Pradesh.
Initially, the Bench acknowledged that many similar petitions were filed by the prisoners in the Supreme Court for their release and there is a virtual “deluge” of such petitions being filed from one state, Uttar Pradesh.
Many prisoners who have spent over 20 years in jail have approached to seek relief as earlier, the Supreme Court had allowed some prisoners to come out of jail on bail during the pendency of their application.
Rishi Malhotra pleaded that orders, in case of the 28 prisoners, similar to the ones the Court passed in favour of life convicts in more than two dozen convicts in more than two dozen cases.
The Bench stated that it can ask the State Government to make a decision on their representation within the period of four weeks.
However, the Bench deferred the hearing to 4th of May after Malhotra insisted that the petition be heard with similar other petitions that are pending in the Court.
On 15th April, the Court had passed an order on a similar petition filed by a life convict and asked the additional Advocate General to assist it in deciding the case.
