The Supreme Court on Monday directed states and Union Territories to set up high-powered committees to consider if undertrials and convicts, who face a maximum of seven years in jail, could be released on parole or interim bail to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in India’s heavily crowded prisons.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde left it to the governments concerned to fix the criteria for release.

In Bengal, the government has already announced special parole for certain categories of prisoners.

One inmate died in Dum Dum jail on Saturday after a riot over measures to check the virus while another committed suicide a day later.