444 UTPs incarcerated without being granted bail: OSLSA to Orissa HC
On Friday, the Orissa High Court was notified by the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) that 444 under-trial prisoners (UTPs) had been granted bail by courts, but were still detained in state prisons.
A PIL about jail overcrowding and other issues was being heard by the court. In 2006, a Krushna Prasad Sahoo filed the PIL. Concerning the UTPs who were ordered to be released on bail but were kept behind because they were unable to provide bail bonds, this was one of the difficulties that came up.
444 UTPs fell under this category, according to member secretary Sudipta Acharya of the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA), who was present virtually. According to him, a number of them do not provide bail bonds as they are facing several charges.
The Supreme Court established a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that covered the issuance of such UTPs on Personal Recognisance Bonds (PR Bonds), as Amicus Curiae Gautam Mishra noted when bringing up the matter.
“The Court requests the Member Secretary OSLSA, in view of the seriousness and urgency of the matter, to hold online meeting with the secretary of District Legal Service Authorities within a week so as to ensure the Supreme Court directions are duly complied with,” the division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice MS Raman said, taking note of the submissions.
The bench added, “On that date the member secretary, OSLSA, shall also submit a report as regards to up-to-date position of UTPs who are still in jail custody despite bail orders granted in their favor,” in addition to postponing the case until April 22.
Data on all such UTPs who, because of their poverty, were unable to provide a surety or bail bond are anticipated to be provided by the OSLSA. Records show that on May 21, 2021, in response to a directive from the highest court, the three-member High Power Committee (HPC) for jail decongestion passed a resolution stating that all inmates who had committed crimes that could have resulted in a seven-year sentence and were detained in Odisha jails but were granted bail because they were unable to provide a bail bond would be released on a Personal Recognizance Bond.
In spite of being granted bail by the appropriate courts, 667 convicts were not able to get it, according to the report that OSLSA filed at the time. 354 of them were incarcerated for crimes carrying a maximum seven-year sentence.
