"There isn't enough space inside jails but you want to put more people in?" Kerala High Court to State

The Kerala High Court on Thursday made some strong observations about the insistence of the State prosecution to file appeal in criminal matters at a time when prisons in the State are significantly overcrowded..Several criminal appeals preferred by the State were listed on Thursday before a Division Bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and Ziyad Rahman AA.Since some of the appeals were not numbered and some of the respondents' counsel sought time, the Court adjourned the matters and said it would hear all matters together next month. However, the Public Prosecutor remarked that much time has passed and sought a closer date which prompted the Bench to question the haste on the part of the State.The fact that it was during a time when prisons in State are already overcrowded was not lost on the Bench which expressed it incredulity at the same. "There isn't enough space to keep those who are inside(jail) , that's when you want to put more people in? Appeals from people inside are also pending for over five years, still you want to put others in right now?", Justice Chandran remarked..According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report on Prison Statistics in India released on December 31, 2019, in the 1,350 prisons in India, 4,78,600 prisoners are housed against a total capacity of 4,03,739. Of these, 3,30,487 are undertrial prisoners. In other words, at the end of 2019, prisons in India were operating with a 118.5 % occupancy rate, the highest in a decade..Looking at Kerala in particular, in 2019, there were a total 7,499 prisoners including 4,330 undertrial prisoners kept behind bars. However, Kerala had the capacity to house only 6,841 prisoners in its 54 prisons. This is an occupancy rate of a 109.6%.As of today, the total prison population in Kerala has increased to 8,499. .Taking into account the congestion at prisons and considering the COVID-19 pandemic that hit India in early 2020, the Supreme Court had in March 2020, acknowledged that overcrowding of prisons can lead to devastating consequences for prisoners.The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had directed the states to form a High-Powered Committee to consider various steps for de-congesting the prisons including by recommending releases on interim bail/ parole or furlough..However, the top court ordered that those released be re-imprisoned after COVID-19 pandemic seemingly reduced in March 2021.But as the pandemic resurged, the Court ordered the release of prisoners again in an order issued in early May of this year. .Pursuant to the Supreme Court's 2020 directions, High Courts in several States including Kerala, had issued orders for the release of certain categories of prisoners. In March 2020, the Kerala High Court had directed the release of prisoners facing up to 7 years' imprisonment among a slew of other directions for the granting on interim bail to under-trial prisoners. While it was reported that over 1800 prisoners were released at the time, as of today the in-house prison population in Kerala is 6,382, a near 100 percent occupancy rate.