SC extends by week order staying surrender of undertrials in Delhi
Nov 25, 2020
New Delhi [India], November 25 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended by a week its order where it had stayed an order of the Delhi High Court directing the surrender of 2,674 undertrials, who were released on interim bail in a move to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in the national capital.
"The interim order passed on October 29 is extended by a week. List the matter on December 1, 2020," a Bench headed by Justice L. Nageswara Rao said.
The top court earlier stopped the implementation of the High Court order of October 20 on the basis of a petition filed by NGO, National Forum on Prison Reforms.
The High Court had ordered them to surrender from November 2 in a phased manner.
On October 20, the High Court had ordered 2,300 undertrial prisoners, who were granted bail by district courts, to surrender district-wise from November 2 to November 13. Another 356 prisoners, allowed to go on bail by the Delhi High Court itself, were ordered to surrender before their respective jail superintendents on November 13.
The High Court had however allowed them liberty to apply for extension of their bail.
In its petition, the NGO said the order was passed under the "gross misunderstanding" that there were only three cases of COVID-19 amid the 16,000 inmates now.
