Kerala HC seeks report on poor prisoner scheme

The Kerala High Court has requested a report from the State Government and prison authorities regarding the status and available balance in the Zero Balance Subsidiary Account established under the Support to Poor Prisoners’ Scheme.

This scheme, launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs, aims to assist impoverished prisoners who cannot secure bail or pay fines due to their financial situations.

The Court’s order came in a suo moto case following a directive from the Supreme Court, which highlighted that many individuals are still imprisoned despite having received bail, primarily due to their inability to meet the financial requirements for bail.

The Division Bench, consisting of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice G Girish, also ordered a report on pending applications from prisoners seeking remission, premature release, furlough, and parole, along with the timeframe for processing these applications.

“The Public Prosecutor is required to obtain a report from respondents 1 to 4 regarding the current status of the Zero Balance Subsidiary Account established under the ‘Support to Poor Prisoners’ Scheme,’ including the amount currently available in that account. Additionally, a report must be submitted to the Court regarding the status of pending applications related to remission, premature release, furlough, and parole, along with the timeframe for resolving these applications.”

Advocate Parvathi Menon, representing the Victim Rights Centre for the State Legal Services Authority, stated that some women prisoners have been granted bail but have not yet been released. She also noted that certain inmates have been serving sentences without remission for over 14 years.

Additionally, the State Legal Services Authority submitted a statement to the Court outlining the details of prisoners who have not been released on bail even after seven days of securing it, as well as information on other pending applications from prisoners. It was mentioned that the reasons for the non-release of these prisoners are under investigation, and measures are being taken to address the issue.

In light of the report submitted by KeLSA, the Court has instructed the Secretaries of the District Legal Services Authorities to evaluate the economic situations of prisoners who have been granted bail but remain in custody because they cannot fulfill bail and surety conditions. The Court further ordered these Secretaries to file the prepared socio-economic reports with the appropriate jurisdictional court to seek relaxation of the bail conditions.

The case is scheduled for further hearing on October 16.

Counsel for the Respondents includes Director General of Prosecution T.A. Shaji, Additional Public Prosecutor P. Narayanan, Senior Public Prosecutor Sajju S., and Advocate Leo Lukose.

Case Number: WP(CRL.) No. 867 of 2024
Case Title: Suo Moto v. State of Kerala