Maharashtra’s effort to reduce its growing prison population has hit a bump with the Supreme Court-appointed reforms committee threatening contempt proceedings against the State. In a scathing letter, the committee chairperson has warned the State government of contempt for failing to appoint a representative on the Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms, despite repeated reminders.
The three-member panel was set up by the SC to suggest remedial measures on overcrowding in prisons. The delay in appointing a nodal officer to the panel is being seen as not “in accord with the letter and spirit of the court orders”, Justice (Retd.) Amitava Roy, chairperson of the committee, has said in his letter to Additional Chief Secretary, Home, written in the first week of December. The other two members are Director General (Prisons), Tihar Jail, New Delhi; and Inspector General, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Government of India.
Maharashtra currently has 36,002 people lodged in 60 large and small prisons, which is 50% more than what the prisons can accommodate. While the State Prison Department has received funds under the 13th Finance Commission to improve the facilities and amenities for inmates, the process has taken a long time to gather pace, officials said. The work of constructing more barracks in prisons and the repair of structures on jail premises is being executed through the Public Works Department.
The State government’s lethargy in appointing a representative on the national panel also means it has not signed up for the terms and references of the committee. This, the panel has said, could delay the efforts to submit recommendations to the Supreme Court in a time-bound manner. Justice Roy said, “If the nodal officer is not appointed now along with providing data and information asked for, the committee is left with with no other alternative but to bring the inexplicable default to the notice of the Supreme Court.”
The panel has so far held two rounds of deliberations since its formulation on September 25. It is tasked with reviewing the Model Prison Manual, 2016, recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women by States, and the Training Manuals for Prison Persons, 2017.
Asked the reason for delay, a senior official of the State Home Department said, “We have identified a few officers, but are unable to finalise the name due to shortage of competent candidates.”
