Recently, the Orissa High Court has ordered District Legal Services Authorities of eight districts of the state to file appropriate applications before respective Criminal Courts on the behalf of the 48 criminals who have also been granted bail but unable to exit the prisons due to the inability to furnish bail bonds. 

Senior Advocate Gautam Misra filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL)  before the bench of Chief Justice Dr S. Muralidhar and Justice Gourishankar Satapathy. He mentioned that there are as many as 45 prisoners who are unable to exit jails as they are not in a position to furnish bail bonds. Details of 22 such prisoners were placed before the Court.

He further mentioned about overcrowding of various jails in the State. By taking note the Orissa High Court reiterated the directions issued by the Supreme Court in Moti Ram v. State of Madhya Pradesh and in a recent order In Re Policy Strategy for Grant of Bail. 

By taking references from the above cases, the Orissa High Court ordered the Secretaries of the DLSAs of Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Balasore, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Nabarangpur to take immediate steps to file appropriate applications in the respective criminal Courts to facilitate the early release of such prisoners by modification of the bail orders passed to bring it in line with the directions of the Supreme Court in the above two cases.

The Court further ordered to file an application by 10th April 2023