Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday emphasised the need to look into security of prison inmates in the State, a week after Byculla jail inmate Manjula Shette’s death.
A Division Bench of Justices R.M. Sawant and Sadhana Jadhav was hearing a petition filed by Shivaji Tukaram Choudhary lodged at the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune. The plea complains about the inhuman condition inside the prison and says the inmates are deprived of their fundamental human rights. He says that basic amenities are not provided to prisoners.
The court said that after Shette’s death, the security of jail inmates needs to be looked into.
Meanwhile, social activist Pradeep Bhalekar has filed a criminal public interest litigation in the High Court, asking to to transfer the investigation into Shette’s alleged murder to the State Crime Investigation Department. The PIL has sought Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code to be added to the FIR, and that the male constables be charged under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with the intent to outrage her modesty). It says that a vigilance committee be formed to monitor activity of prisons.
