The Supreme Court on Friday directed all convicts and undertrial prisoners released during the Covid-19 pandemic to surrender within 15 days.
The bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar directed undertrial prisoners, who were released on emergency bail during the pandemic, to move for regular bail before competent courts after their surrender.
The bench also said that all the convicts who were released can move competent courts for suspension of their sentence after their surrender.
In 2020 and 2021, the Supreme Court passed several orders in the suo motu case during the first and second waves of the pandemic for the grant of emergency parole. Several convicts and undertrial prisoners, mostly those booked for non-heinous offences, were released during the pandemic in an effort to decongest jails.
