The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Director-General of Prisons to inspect the Tihar jail here to ascertain whether inmates had access to medical and basic facilities like sufficient number of toilets.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar asked the D-G Prisons to also look into whether there was sufficient cleanliness at the central prison. The D-G Prisons was asked to file a report before the next date of hearing on December 18.
Human rights
The court issued the directions based on a news report which had said that a United Kingdom-based court had refused India’s request to extradite a suspected bookie as it felt the conditions in which he would be kept in at Tihar jail would be a violation of his human rights.
The Bench noted that the prison was “hopelessly overcrowded”, and that the inmates had claimed the number of toilets was insufficient and medical treatment was provided belatedly.
The Bench referred to the news report while hearing a public interest litigation initiated by it after several prisoners wrote to the court complaining about inhuman conditions, and lack of medical and employment facilities at the newly-commissioned Mandoli Jail here.
New jails
To decongest Tihar jail in west Delhi, two other jails — one at Rohini in north-west Delhi and another at Mandoli in east Delhi — were made operational in December 2004 and October 2016 respectively. The Mandoli complex, which has six prisons, can house 3,776 inmates, while Tihar and Rohini jails have 14,469 prisoners against the sanctioned strength of 6,250.
‘Pathetic conditions’
The letters had complained of pathetic living conditions in the jail, besides lack of medical facilities, employment opportunities and faulty punishment procedures allegedly implemented by the jail administration.
As per the Tihar Jail Manual, inmates who are awarded jail terms are imparted education, useful skills and lessons to respect the law.
