KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered to consider reducing overcrowding in prisons so as to lessen the risk of coronavirus spread among the jailbirds in overcrowded prisons and detention centers.
Stating that overcrowded prisons will violate the right to health of the jailbirds, the SC ordered the authorities to seek alternative ways of penalty to those behind bars.
A division bench of Justices Sapana Malla Pradhan and Prakash Kumar Dhungana ordered the government to reduce or release jail terms of children, pregnant women, and women inmates and others jailbirds with complicated health conditions or the vulnerable ones.
Responding to a writ filed by Gopal Siwakoti Chintan, and Ram Sharma, among other inmates, SC justices Pradhan and Dhungana ordered the authorities to implement the suspend punishments handed to the delinquents.
It may be noted that the Parliamentary Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee had earlier issued a directive to the government to minimize the number of jailbirds through a policy decision to ensure proper management of the jails considering the coronavirus outbreak.
Nepal’s jails, which have the capacity of keeping 18,000 prisoners, have currently as many as 24,063 jailbirds.
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