Case Law Details
Rajinder Bassi and others Vs State of Punjab (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
No Special Relief in Bail due to COVID-19, if there is no reported case of COVID-19 within the premises of jail and it is relatively safe
In the present case there are allegations on the petitioner of having caused loss to State-Exchequer to the tune of Rs 20 crores appx. by evasion of payment of GST and he has applied for grant of interim bail, mainly on account of the prevalent conditions of spread of COVID-19 virus.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court, vide its order dated 23.3.2020 had directed all the States/Union Territories to consider as to which of the prisoners ‘may’ be released on interim bail or parole during the pandemic so as to decongest the jails and to prevent outbreak of COVID-19 virus in prisons. They further clarified that the purpose was to prevent the overcrowding of prisons so that in case of an outbreak of coronavirus in the prisons, the spread of the disease is manageable. They make it clear that they have not directed the States/ Union Territories to compulsorily release the prisoners from their respective prisons.
The petitioner in the given case will be going to send in Nabha jail (Bihar) for his imprisonment. Therefore, High Court also draws strength from the fact that State of Bihar has chosen not to release any of the prisoners as the jails are not congested and there was no reported case of corona virus in the jails and the said fact was duly noticed by Supreme Court in its order dated 23.3.2020. Since the Nabha Jail already stands decongested and there is no reported case of COVID-19 within the premises of jail, therefore keeping in view the nature and gravity of offence and the amount involved this Court does not deem it appropriate to grant interim bail to the petitioner. The application, as such, is dismissed.
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