New Delhi:The Rajasthan government on Monday opposed in the Supreme Court a plea accusing it of taking the area allotted to Sanganer open-air jail campus at Jaipur for the construction of a 300-bed hospital and termed it "sponsored litigation".
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan directed the registrar of the apex court to act as a court commissioner and submit a report after inspecting the site.
It was hearing a contempt plea alleging wilful disobedience by the Rajasthan authorities of the apex court's May 17 order which directed that there shall be no attempt to reduce the area of open-air camps/prisons functioning in the country.
Semi-open or open prisons allow convicts to work outside the premises during the day to earn a livelihood and return in the evening. The concept was introduced to assimilate the convicts with society and reduce psychological pressure as they faced difficulties in leading normal lives outside.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Rajasthan, said the state has neither reduced nor there is any attempt to reduce the area of Sanganer open-air camp.
"This is the constituency of the chief minister (of Rajasthan) where there are interested people who do not want a hospital to come up," the top law officer said.
He said the plea had been filed by a "public-spirited man" from Assam. Mehta said as per the government revenue records, the area allotted to the Sanganer open-air jail campus is around 1.78 hectares and neither the allotted area has been reduced nor there is any proposal or decision to reduce it.
He said the area allotted for the construction of a 300-bed government hospital was totally outside the actual allotted area for the open-air prison. When Mehta said it appeared to be a "sponsored litigation", the bench asked, "Who can be behind this? It is not as if that somebody has any commercial interest".
"I know the reason, I do not wish to say. Let us not go into it. The purpose is that direction of the court must be complied with," the solicitor general said. "The hospital construction should not be stayed. That is the intended purpose," he said.
Senior advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for the petitioner, said the open-air prison should be allowed to function as it is and nobody was objecting to the construction of the hospital.
"We, therefore, find that it will be appropriate that the court appoints a court commissioner for a site inspection and submit its report...," the bench said.
"We are also of the view that there has to be a balance between the needs of having an open correctional home and also a hospital which shall cater to the needs of the citizens residing in the vicinity," it said.
The bench directed the registrar of the apex court to act as a court commissioner and submit a report before it. It posted the matter for hearing on December 16. The apex court had passed the May 17 order in a matter related to jails and overcrowding in prisons.
While hearing the matter in May, the top court had observed that establishing open jails can be one of the solutions to overcrowding and also address the issue of rehabilitation of prisoners.
