Back
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
RANGANATH MISRA AND M.M. DUTT, JJ.
Sanjay Suri and another, Petitioners
Versus
Delhi Administration, Delhi and another, Respondents.
Writ Petn. (Crl) Nos 2546 - 47 of 1983, D/- 9-12-1987.
Held, as a result of these exercises taken during the pendency of the writ petitions, one substantial achievement has been that Tihar Jail no more accommodates Juvenile delinquents and their jail has been separated. On account of the repeated directions from this Court the jail administration has now been obliged to undertake erection of a separate jail as an additional place for housing juvenile prisoners and under trials and the construction is coming up, as reported. On account of the exposure, the jail administration has been obliged to place the administration of the jail in the hands of a superior officer. These who are incharge of the jail administration from bottom to top must develop the proper approach to deal with the prisoners and under trials. It is true that a considerable number of hardened prisoners live in the jail and these who have a longer term of sentence to suffer stay on for quite a part of their life behind the prison bars. Longer stay at one place brings in familiarity and familiarity generates a number of human reactions. There is no provision in the jail manuals and, perhaps it is difficult as a rule to adopt that the long-term prisoners should keep on shifting from jail to jail. Whatever may have been philosophy of punishment in the past, today the prison house is looked upon as a reformatory and the years spent in the jail should be with a view to providing rehabilitation to the prisoner after the sentence is over. That would not be possible over night and, therefore, cannot be deferred to materialise on the date of release. The wrong side has to be given up the virtuous way of living has to be acquired. Both are difficult processes. Therefore, the prison house, in case the true purpose is to be achieved, has to provide the proper atmosphere, leadership, environment, situations and circumstances for the regeneration. Members of the staff of the jail from bottom to top (we have purposely not said top to bottom) must be made cognizant of this responsibility and that awareness must be reflected in their conduct. Judicial notice can be taken of prevailing conditions in our jails and what we have stated above is still utopian. The work load of superintendence should be distributed in a graded way and the officers should have the direct charge of such divided responsibilities. It is necessary that a large dose of good living should be introduced into jail life. (Paras 1, 3 and 4)
Further held, we call upon every Magistrate or trial Judge authorised to issue warrants for detention of prisoners to ensure that every warrant authorising detention specifies the age of the person to be detained. On the basis of the age indicated in, the warrant, it shall be the obligation of the jail authorities to find out, so far as Delhi is concerned, whether the prisoner covered by the warrant should be detained in the Tihar Jail or in the Juvenile Jail. Though the place of stay has now been segregated, there is possibility of contact between the hardened criminals and the juvenile delinquents if there is no proper segregation in assignment of work. We direct that due care shall be taken to ensure that the juvenile delinquents are not assigned work in the same area where regular prisoners are made to work. Care should be taken to ensure that there is no scope for their meeting and having contacts. We direct that steps should be taken to shift the warders at the end of every three years. This is a principle which had been accepted in the Punjab Jail Manual (Chapter VI, Rule 273). Delhi Administration has a difficulty in doing so in a real way because it has only one jail and may have one more when the other jail under construction comes up, but there is no other place to, which warders can be transferred. The Administration should take note of the situation; the rules should be changed and the warders may either be inter-changed with some other category of service working outside the jail or a common Union Territory service could be set up to permit the same. Such transfer will indeed be helpful in restoring discipline in the jail. The Visitors Board should consist of cross sections of society; people with good background social activists, people connected with the news media, lady social workers, jurists, retired public officers from the Judiciary as also the Executive. The Sessions Judge should be given an acknowledged position as a visitor and his visits should not routine ones. Full care should be taken by him to have a real picture of the defects in the administration qua the resident prisoners and under trials. (Paras 5, 6, 7 and 8)
(ii) Overcrowding in Tihar Jail - From a practical point over-crowding may to a reasonable aspect have to be tolerated - However presence in this regard to some extent would be reduced with the commissioning of the new Jail. (Para 9) - (i) Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 Legality of an order of detention of the person who was already in custody - Detaining authority most be ware of the fact that the detenu is already in detention-There must be compelling reasons justifying such detention.
Held, that in the instant case, it has been already noticed that the detaining authority was aware of the fact that the appellant was arrested and produced before the Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi. The grounds of detention also disclosed compelling reason that the appellant should be preventively detained under the Act in spite of his detention on a charge under section 135 of the Customs Act. It is not the case of the appellant that the grounds of detention do not disclose compelling reasons. All that has, been urged on behalf of the appellant is that there bas been non-application of mind by the detaining authority of the fact of detention of the appellant. We are, however, unable to accept the contention made on behalf of the appellant that there has been non-application of mind by the detaining authority to the relevant facts. The detaining authority, besides being aware of the fact that the appellant was already in detention, has taken into consideration the relevant facts before passing the impugned order of detention under the Act, which is apparent from the grounds of detention. In the circumstances, the contention that the impugned order of detention should be struck down on the ground of non-application of mind by the detaining authority. (Para 6)
(ii) COFEPOSA Act, 1974 - Detention order under – Challenged - Representation of detenu stating that he wants to produce in rebuttal of the allegations his witnesses- However before the Advisory Board he stated arguing his own case-No specific prayer made for examination of his witnesses or for assistance of his friend-There is no violation of principles of natural justice-Order is sustainable. (Para 7)
(iii) Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 Sections 10 and 11 Confirmation of detention order for the maximum period of one year - The authority is not required to give any special reasons either for fixing a shorter period or for maximum period prescribed-The opinion of the Advisory Board and the grounds of detention are the only basis for confirming. (1986 Crl. L.J. 1976 (MP) overruled). (Paras 11, 17 and 18)
Judgment
RANGANATH MISRA, J.:- These two applications under Article 32 of the Constitution are in the nature of a public interest litigation. A news reporter and a trainee sub-editor have moved this Court for appropriate directions to the Delhi Administration and the authorities of the Central Jail at Tihar, pointing out features of mal-administration within the jail relating to juvenile undertrial prisoners. During the pendency of the proceedings, the Court made several orders with reference to juvenile prisoners and undertrials. On 28th October, 1983 this Court directed :-
"When these writ petitions came up for hearing before us we had certain hesitation in entertaining them because another petition was pending in the High Court of Delhi in regard to juvenile prisoners in Tihar Jail where some directions had been given by the High Court and we were anxious to avoid a parallel investigation particularly since in matters of this kind it is desirable that the High Courts should be activised. But since no inquiry into the conditions prevailing in the Tihar Jail, in so far prisoners in the juvenile ward are concerned, had been ordered and what was ordered was only a limited inquiry relating to medical examination of 7 juvenile prisoners who were directed to be produced in Court, we thought that we would be failing in our constitutional duty if we do not take judicial action and direct the District Judge to visit Tihar Jail for making inquiry into the conditions prevailing in the Tihar Jail in so far as the prisoners in the juvenile ward are concerned. We decided to entrust this task to the District Judge because he is even otherwise visitor at the Tihar Jail and we thought it would be better to send an officer who is ultimately responsible for ensuring proper conditions in the Tihar Jail rather than, entrust this work to an outside organisation or agency. We are glad that we made this order because the Report made by the District Judge discloses a shocking state of affairs in so far as juvenile prisoners are concerned. The District Judge has interviewed some of the juvenile prisoners in regard to whom he learnt, as a result of the inquiry made by him, that they had been subjected to sexual assault by the adult prisoners. The juvenile prisoners who made statements before the District Judge have expressed apprehension that they might get into difficulties and be victimised if their names are disclosed and the District Judge has also suggested in his Report that either the names should not be disclosed or if the names of these juvenile prisoners are disclosed, adequate protection should be granted to them. We do not think it would be right not to disclose the names of these juvenile prisoners while supplying copies of the Report of the District Judge to the advocates of the parties but we do think it necessary to provide adequate protection to them. We would, therefore, direct that the following undertrial juvenile prisoners, namely............shall be released immediately in the course of the day on their executing a bond of Rs. 500/- each before the Superintendent of Tihar Jail. There are also three convicted juvenile prisoners in the Tihar Jail, namely............who have given statements to the District Judge. They should be released forthwith on parole for a period of one month on their executing a bond for Rs. 500/- each before the Superintendent of Tihar Jail that they will surrender themselves to the jail authorities on the expiration of the period of one month. The release of these three convicted juveniles prisoners on parole will also be done in the course of the day. We may make it clear that we are making this order for release of the aforementioned juvenile prisoners - undertrial as well as convicted - only with a view to protecting them and we are, at the present moment, not passing upon the correctness or otherwise of the statements made by them.
The learned Additional Solicitor General on behalf of the respondents stat
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
