Can meetings with family be increased HC asks Tihar

  • | Wednesday | 14th April, 2021

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the prison authority whether the number of 'mulaqats' of prisoners with their family and lawyers can be increased to four per month instead of the current number of three and to explore feasibility of holding physical meetings instead of only virtual. Justice Prathiba M Singh also asked the Director General (DG) of Prisons whether physical mulaqats (visits/meetings) can be held inside the jail premises by following social distancing measures and use of protective gear as the prevalent practice of virtual meetings was not feasible for everyone. The court said that family members of each and every prisoner may not have access to the kind of gadgets and internet connection required for virtual meetings and therefore, the feasibility of conducting physical mulaqats be explored. It also asked the DG Prisons to consider providing more computers with internet connection in the legal aid room of the jail, so that legal aid lawyers can help prisoners to find out their case status and also draft pleas. The queries were posed to the DG Prisons as these issues were raised before the court by two JNU students — Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita — who are also Pinjra Tod activists and presently in jail in connection with the communal riots in north-east Delhi.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the prison authority whether the number of mulaqats of prisoners with their family and lawyers can be increased to four per month instead of the current number of three and to explore feasibility of holding physical meetings instead of only virtual. Justice Prathiba M Singh also asked the Director General (DG) of Prisons whether physical mulaqats (visits/meetings) can be held inside the jail premises by following social distancing measures and use of protective gear as the prevalent practice of virtual meetings was not feasible for everyone. The court said that family members of each and every prisoner may not have access to the kind of gadgets and internet connection required for virtual meetings and therefore, the feasibility of conducting physical mulaqats be explored. Another query posed by the court was whether the computers in the computer centre in Tihar Jail can be made operational for prisoners to access the websites of the police, trial courts, Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court so that they can keep track of their cases and FIRs against them. It also asked the DG Prisons to consider providing more computers with internet connection in the legal aid room of the jail, so that legal aid lawyers can help prisoners to find out their case status and also draft pleas. The queries were posed to the DG Prisons as these issues were raised before the court by two JNU students — Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita — who are also Pinjra Tod activists and presently in jail in connection with the communal riots in north-east Delhi. Narwal and Kalita, arrested last year in May in connection with the communal riots in northeast Delhi and in judicial custody presently, have sought a direction to the DG Prisons to allow them and other inmates to have a choice of physical or virtual "mulaqaats" or meetings to communicate with family and friends as is provided under the Prison Rules of 2018.

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