Nainital, Jun 28 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Saturday expressed strong displeasure over 140 eligible convicts not being released from the state's prisons.
The court ordered constitution of a competent authority board within two weeks to consider such releases.
A division bench of Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal remarked that despite continuous efforts by National Legal Services Authority, State Legal Services Authority, and District Legal Services Authorities to make the process more effective and to expedite releases, convicts eligible for release continue to suffer in the state's prisons for over 5-6 years.
During the hearing, a report was presented before the court listing 140 prisoners who, under the government's policy, were eligible for early release.
The report specifically mentioned that the first three prisoners on the list had been eligible for release since 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively, under government orders.
Terming it an example of administrative apathy, the court directed that a competent authority board be formed within two weeks to consider the release of eligible prisoners.
It also instructed that the process of reviewing individual cases of such prisoners be initiated promptly.