New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up states for not complying with its directions and failing to file their affidavits regarding the data on overcrowding in prisons, and the existing infrastructure details.
A two judge bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah directed all states to file the affidavits in the next two weeks and also include the timeline and the manner of implementation of the recommendations given by respective committees.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had issued a slew of directions to states over how to address overcrowding in prisons and improve the state of women prisoners and children lodged in jails across India.
The apex court had sought reports from all state authorities on the state of facilities available for women with children in prisons after reports alleged that women were getting pregnant inside West Bengal jails.
While hearing the matter on Tuesday, Justice Amanullah asked Senior Advocate Gaurav Aggarwal, who is acting as Amicus in the matter, whether the Chief Secretaries of States/UTs had filed their affidavits in terms of earlier directions.
The Amicus said that all except Delhi had filed since the affidavit required Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's approval but since he was in judicial custody over the Delhi Liquor Policy case, the same could not be done. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, speaking on behalf of Delhi, sought some more time from the court.
The Amicus pointed out that the situation was dire in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Chhattisgarh as "these states have more than 120-130 jails, where the problem appears to be the highest".
He highlighted that the data collected was an "eye-opener" for the governments. To it, Justice Kolhi remarked that the "idea of punishment" was not to keep the person in a "place which is so dingy, so difficult, so crowded, in such conditions that the person goes out more ill".
The apex court specifically pulled up Uttar Pradesh after Amicus Gaurav Aggarwal said the state had "artifically increased" the capacity of jails and the problem of overcrowding was immense.
After hearing Aggarwal, the bench was of the opinion that Uttar Pradesh was fudging data and hoodwinking the court. "You have capacity logistic for sleeping and other things only 500, but because the area is said to be 1000, you say 1000. Is that what data you have to give to us? That is misleading. If the state does that to the Supreme Court, we can imagine. Then be prepared and don't say we have overreacted. Be prepared for consequences, they are going to be drastic", Justice Amanullah said.
The court also flagged the shortcomings in the affidavits filed by Bihar, Punjab and Chhattisgarh and directed the Chief Secretaries of these states to file affidavits within 2 weeks furnishing the milestones within which the recommendations of the Committees shall be implemented, along with relevant data. The matter will be heard again on May 14.
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