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 r