A plea was filed in front of the Supreme Court requesting for release of prisoners who are above the age of 50 years or people suffering from any diseases.
Brief Facts
The plea was filed by an Advocate Amit Sahni. The plea was backed by information released by World Health Organization, which said that people above the age of 50 years might face more risk if infected with the coronavirus and additional if the person is facing any pre-existing medical condition the situation might be fatal. Advocate in his plea has said that “people above the age of 50 are at more risk if they are affected with coronavirus. Persons suffering with diabetes, respiratory problems, renal problems and other life threatening illness are also prone to COVID-19 and impact of the same can be severe in such persons”[i].Mr. Amit Sahni has requested the court to direct the officials to take necessary actions pertaining to this matter. It was also mentioned in the plea that the Apex Court has taken Suo Moto Cognizance in the matter of overcrowding of prisons across country, but there was no necessary information about the people who were above 50 years and how vulnerable they can be.
Key Points
1. The plea before the Supreme Court was filed by Advocate Amit Sahni, requesting the court to direct the authorities to take necessary actions to release the persons who are above 50 years by emergency parole or interim bail.
2. The plea was backed with the information released by the World Health Organization, explaining how if a person above the age of 50 years is infected with the virus he/she can be seriously affected.
3. The plea also was also included with the action taken by the Apex Court prior to this plea regarding the overcrowding of the prisons, but also mentioned that this issue wasn’t addressed before.
Conclusion
As World Health Organization has already issued a lot of information about how children below the age of 10 years and elderly people above the age of 50 are the most affected if infected with the virus, as one’s immune system has to be well maintained. If they are facing with any pre-existent diseases like diabetes, respiratory problems, or any renal diseases the situation might get much worse. To prevent from any of this happening a plea was filed by Advocate Amit Sahni before the court requesting the responsible authorities to take necessary actions and release the prisoners on emergency parole or on an interim bail.
Edited by J. Madonna Jephi
Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje
End Notes
[i] Pti, Coronavirus: Plea in SC for parole, interim bail to prisoners above 50 years: India News – Times of India The Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/coronavirus-plea-in-sc-for-parole-interim-bail-to-prisoners-above-50-year-old/articleshow/74890351.cms (last visited Mar 31, 2020).
