PESHAWAR: Two lawyers on Friday moved the Peshawar High Court seeking measures to reduce jail population across the province by freeing prisoners on bail or probation to protect them from coronavirus.

Lawyers Shabbir Hussain Gigyani and Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel fielded separate petitions saying almost all prisons were overcrowded and prisoners were vulnerable to the virus.

In his petition, Mr Gigyani requested the court to ask the district judges to immediately visit the respective prisons and order the release under-trial prisoners on bail in all cases except of those of crimes punishable by death or life sentence.

He prayed the court to issue orders for the bail of prisoners punished for less than five years and those detained over non-payment of fine or diyat.

The petitioner requested the court to order the establishment of a ‘quarantine prison’ for new prisoners to protect those already detained there.

Lawyers seek steps to reduce jail population to prevent coronavirus

Similarly, Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel has requested the court to release prisoners above 50 years of age and juveniles on bail as they were more vulnerable to the infection.

He requested the court to order release of all such prisoners having medical conditions as cardiac, diabetes, asthma and kidneys issues, etc as they were at higher risk.

The petitioner prayed the court to release on bail all the under trial prisoners as they are innocent unless proven guilty.

He also sought order for the release of all foreign prisoners by taking sureties from them as their death in prison because of coronavirus may bring a bad name to the country.

The petitioner said the diyat amount of prisoners, who were behind bars due to non-payment of dues, could be paid by the government from the Baitul Mal.

He said the court could direct the subordinate courts to extend the discretion of bail liberally unless there was an exceptional case.

Mr Saifullah added that civil work should be curtailed and the benches of high court should hear criminal cases to reduce the strength of prisoners in jails.

The petitioners said coronavirus was highly contagious and spread rapidly and that it spread more speedily in overcrowded and populated places.

They said the Islamabad High Court had also ordered to bail out or release prisoners who were eligible to be considered for release under the prison rules, the Probation of offenders Ordinance, 1960, and Section 410 of Code of Criminal Procedure.

The petitioners said the National Action Plan for the prevention of coronavirus through different measures, including social distancing, hadn’t been implemented in prisons.

They added that the situation required an out-of-the-way response.

Mr Saifullah said prisons across the country had the capacity to accommodate 56,634 prisoners but they had kept 77,000 people and a large number of them suffered from different ailments.

He requested the court to declare as illegal the acts of the government of not taking any preventive and precautionary measures for the prisoners’ health and not providing them facilities for fighting against coronavirus.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2020