The Supreme Court on Tuesday has granted parole to Jagjit Singh Chahal, businessman from Punjab while observing that the Covid-19 situation in the country is only getting worse.
A three-judge bench comprising of Justice Rohinton F Nariman, Justice Navin Sinha and Justice BR Gavai commented on the situation of the pandemic in the country while hearing a petition regarding parole of an accused.
“The Covid-19 situation is not getting any better with each passing day. It is only getting worse in the country,” the Bench said.
A plea for parole was filed by businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal, accused in a money laundering case and also charged with running a drug syndicate in Punjab, called Jagdish Bhola racket. The court had previously in May issued a notice to the state government, asking for the State’s reply on Jagjit Chahal’s plea for parole.
The plea for parole was however opposed by the counsel appearing on behalf of the Punjab government.
The Court noted that it does not make any sense to keep the jails overcrowded when some of the accused could be granted either bail or parole or have already been granted such reliefs and are out now.
-India Legal Bureau