Supreme Court ​requests committee on jail reforms to submit last report inside six months

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday requested a committee on jail reforms, which was constituted to look at a number of features and provides suggestions on points together with overcrowding in jails, to submit its last report inside six months.

A bench of Justices LN Rao and BR Gavai handed the order whereas listening to an utility filed by the Centre looking for a course to the Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms, headed by former apex court docket decide Justice (retd) Amitava Roy, to submit a last report inside three months.

Referring to the September 2018 order of the apex court docket which had requested the committee to finish the gathering of information and data and make acceptable suggestions and submit the identical to the court docket ideally inside 12 months, Attorney General KK Venugopal mentioned they’ve requested within the utility that the ultimate report be submitted inside three months.

Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, who’s helping the highest court docket as an amicus curiae within the matter, referred to his word filed within the matter and mentioned six months could be cheap. “Having gone through the note and after hearing the Attorney General for India, we request the committee to submit its final report within a period of six months from today. List the matter thereafter,” the bench mentioned.

It famous that the amicus has submitted a word bringing to the discover of the court docket the difficulties confronted by the committee in finalising the report. At the outset, Agrawal advised the bench that when the apex court docket had handed the order in 2018, it had given one 12 months to the committee to offer the report. “But, as we all know, there has been a delay for reasons which are beyond control so the Union has filed this application,” he mentioned.

Venugopal mentioned, “We have made a request to your lordships that the final report be submitted within a period of three months.” The bench requested the amicus how a lot time could be taken to submit the ultimate report.

“Six months would be reasonable. I think by September 30, if your lordships will give time. Because we have indicated timelines. Some reports are under preparation which would be submitted in two months from today and some reports within four to six months,” the amicus mentioned.

The apex court docket noticed that it will give six months. “This application is filed on behalf of the Union of India seeking a direction to the committee constituted by this court on prison reforms to expedite and submit a final report within a period of three months,” the bench famous in its order.

Advocate Tarini Kamakhya Nayak, representing Meghalaya, additionally appeared within the matter. The prime court docket is listening to a matter regarding inhuman situations in 1,382 prisons throughout India after it had taken suo motu (by itself) cognizance of a letter written method again in 2013.

The committee, in certainly one of its stories filed earlier, had steered possible instructions which may be handed as remedial measures on the issues confronted by prisons throughout the nation. “A total of 1,341 prisons are presently functional in India as on November 30, 2018…and the total population of prisoners in India as on November 30, 2018, is 4.68 lakh against the total sanctioned strength of 3.83 lakh,” the report had mentioned.

“From 2016 to 2018, the total prison population in India has increased by 8.2 per cent against an increase of 0.7 per cent in the prison sanctioned capacity,” it had mentioned.

To take care of overcrowding in jails, the report had additionally steered numerous measures together with that the courts could also be requested to make use of their “discretionary powers” and award sentences like “fine and admonition” if doable as an alternative of sending the offenders to jails.

Prior to this, the court docket had constituted a three-member committee, headed by Justice (retd) Roy, to look into jail reforms throughout India and make suggestions on a number of features, together with overcrowding.

It had mentioned the ‘Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms’ would additionally comprise Inspector General of Police of Bureau of Police Research and Development and Director General (Prisons) of Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

It had earlier taken sturdy exception to overcrowding of jails throughout the nation and mentioned prisoners even have human rights and can’t be saved like “animals”. The court docket had handed a slew of instructions over unnatural deaths in jails and on jail reforms throughout India.