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The high court of Orissa directed the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) of eight districts to file appropriate applications before respective criminal courts for release of about 45 prisoners who have already been granted bail, but unable to exit the prisons due to inability to furnish bail bonds on 10 March 2023, in the case of Rudra Narayan Sahu v. State of Odisha (W.P.(C) No. 6610 of 2006), passed by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar and Justice Gourishankar Satapathy

Facts of the case:

After consulting the reports provided by various DLSAs, senior advocate Gautam Misra, who is serving as amicus curiae in the matter, informed the Court that up to 45 convicts are unable to leave jails because they are unable to provide bail bonds. 22 of these convicts were profiled and presented to the Court. The Court reaffirmed the directives given by the Supreme Court in Moti Ram v. State of Madhya Pradesh and in its most recent ruling In Re Policy Plan for Issue of Bail after taking note of the situation the aforementioned detainees were in. The Supreme Court issued the following instructions in Re Policy Plan for Grant of Bond in response to the reality that many inmates across the nation fall into the category of “bailed out but not freed” and in order to address the issues at hand.

Judgment:

The High Court instructed the Secretaries of the DLSAs of Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Balasore, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, and Nabarangpur to take immediate action to file the necessary applications in the relevant criminal courts to facilitate the early release of such prisoners by modifying the bail orders passed to bring it in line with the directions of the Supreme Court in the aforementioned two cases. In order to accomplish these processes by April 10, 2023, it has been requested that the Member Secretary of the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) work in conjunction with the Secretaries of the aforementioned DLSAs.

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JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY HARSHEEN KAUR LUTHRA, RGNUL, PUNJAB