New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to a batch of 97 convicts who have been lodged in different jails in Uttar Pradesh for more than 20 years and who had served their sentence.According to LiveLaw, passing the order, a bench of Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice J.K. Maheshwari also issued notice on two writ petitions that have sought the release of prisoners in Agra and Varanasi jails.The petitioners submitted that the convicts, most of whom were awarded life imprisonment, had served out their sentences as part of the state government’s policy which stipulates 16 years of actual imprisonment and four years with remission.The petition was filed through advocate Rishi Malhotra, according to LiveLaw. It cites a previous Supreme Court order dated May 4, 2021 in which the top court granted relief to a similarly placed batch of convicts. This order casts an obligation on the government to act as a ‘welfare state’ and it should consider the premature release by way of periodic assessments, the plea says.The petitioners also say that the state government ignored the top court’s order to release some convicts. When they moved the top court by filing contempt petition, the government “immediately complied with the directions and released at least 32 convicts” on July 16 to avoid contempt proceedings. These convicts had served more than 20 years of total sentence, including an actual sentence of 16 years and above, the petitioners say.According to LiveLaw, the petition also challenges the UP government’s decision to amend the policy on considering release of prisoners who have served a sentence of more than 20 years. Under the new policy, issued on July 28, “an attempt has been made to defeat the rights of the convicts” by restricting the grounds on which convicts would be given the benefit of the state policy. The new policy only allows people above the age of 60 to seek relief.The plea makes an appeal that the earlier policy should apply to the petitioners as well, since it is settled law that a policy that was in existence at the time of conviction would be applicable at the time of consideration for premature release of a convict.