The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre, the Delhi government and the Tihar Jail chief after hearing a PIL demanding certain changes in parole rules and other provisions to protect the fundamental rights of under-trial prisoners and convicts lodged in the jail.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice of the Delhi high court Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna sought the responses from the three respondents latest by August 24.
The court sought the responses after hearing a PIL filed by Vijay Agarwal, the lawyer of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, an accused in the 2G spectrum scam case and now lodged in Tihar Jail. Mr Agarwal, in his petition filed in the high court, said that the old rules pertaining to parole has failed in ensuring protection of the basic fundamental rights guaranteed to an under-trial prisoner under the Constitution.
It should be changed for providing proper protection to these under trials lodged in the jail.
In his petition, Mr Agarwal submitted that “prison rules should protect the jail inmates and give them a fair, just and most importantly a constitutionally-compliant regime regarding the administration of penal system.” The petition further states that the “under-trials constitute 67% of the total prison population in India. There are 2,57,928 under-trial prisoners in India. The present system shows the injustice, discrimination and violations of constitutional rights which these under-trials suffer on account of the administration of the laws and rules, comprising the universal justice system in the country in a completely arbitrary and constitutionally-impermissible manner.