Nainital: Uttarakhand High Court asks State government to release prisoners

Nainital : The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday directed the state government to release all prisoners who have served their sentences from jails by Friday evening.

A list tabulated by the jail authorities put the number of such prisoners at 167. A division of the high court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliayal issued the order taking suo motu cognisance of a PIL pertaining to prisoners lodged in different jails of the state for more than 14 years.

Recently, the chief justice had visited the District Jail of Haldwani and the Sampurnanand Open Jail of Sitarganj. Keeping in mind the human rights of the prisoners, the chief justice had asked for a list from the jail managements of prisoners who had completed their sentences but were still in jail. The authorities found 167 such prisoners. The chief secretary is aware of existing laws and must abide by them, the high court said.

The chief justice said the court should be informed by 10:30 am on Friday about the government’s decision and all such prisoners should be freed by Friday evening.

Newly appointed home secretary Dilip Jawalkar was present during the hearing via video conference.

He said the state government should be given more time to take a decision as the government machinery is busy with preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. However, the court said there is no room for any excuses.