B.N. SRIKRISHNA, J. :---One Muktaram Sitaram Shinde, a life convict undergoing punishment in the Kolhapur Central Jail, Kalamba, addressed a letter dated 17th July, 1995 to the learned Chief Justice of this Court, which has been treated as a writ petition, and assigned to me for hearing and disposal. (Prisoner Muktaram Sitaram Shinde shall hereinafter be referred to as 'the petitioner')

2.By the letter dated 16th July, 1995, the petitioner made the following grievances :

(a) That on account of lack of medical facilities at Kolhapur Central Jail, Kalamba, one prisoner, Bhagwan Ishwara Patil, died on 22nd May, 1995 because he suffered a heart-attack and was not given a prompt medical attention despite his request and that Patil's plea for removal to the Hospital for urgent treatment failed on the deaf ears of Superintendent, A.I.R. 1995 S.C. 1684 Rokade, Senior Jailor, Mate, and the Jailor, Patil, who, instead of sending to the Hospital for medical treatment, threatened him against making false pleas.

(b) The petitioner had addressed a letter drawing attention of this Court to the circumstances under which Bhagwan Ishwara Patil died. This resulted in the petitioner being victimized by the Senior Jailor with threats of his being eliminated in the same manner in which one convict in Sangli Jail was beaten up, died and subsequently shown as having committed suicide.

(c) On 15th July, 1995, Jailor Patil gave a threat to the petitioner that he was leaking out information from the jail for which he would be beaten up and taught a lesson.

(d) That the petitioner was not given the facility of getting a post card for 5/6 months.

(e) That the petitioner was not given the wages which he was entitled to for about seven months despite of his having worked in the Jail Factory.

(f) That one Prisoner, Nathu Bapu Mhaskar, was severely beaten for his having conveyed to the Court the unsatisfactory conditions inside the jail.

(g) That the petitioner himself was severely beaten and subjected to indignities and inhuman behaviour.

3.This Court issued Rule in the matter to the respondents and called upon them to file a detailed affidavit. An affidavit of Shankar Yellappa Sonawane, Under Secretary to Government, Home Department, dated 26th August, 1996, was filed in which it was contended that there was no truth in any of the grievances made by the petitioner, that the Inspector General of Prisons, Maharashtra State, Pune-1, was directed by the State Government to cause an enquiry in the complaint made by the petitioner, that one Dhanajirao Chaudhary, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (Western Region) Yerawada, Pune, conducted an enquiry and after recording the statements of all concerned persons he made a report on 12th August, 1996 and found that there was no substance in the grievances made by the petitioner. Along with the affidavit the papers of the enquiry conducted by Dhanajirao Chaudhary and statements recorded during the so-called enquiry were also filed on the record of this writ petition. After careful perusal of the enquiry documents and the Report of Dhanajirao Chaudhary, this Court was not satisfied that there was no truth in the complaint of the petitioner and , therefore, directed that the petitioner and his co-prisoners, named by him, be kept present before this Court for recording their evidence. Accordingly, the petitioner and his co-prisoners were present before this Court on 9th, 10th and 11th September, 1996 and I have recorded the evidence of the petitioner, Pavan Varadrajan Chakrapani, Sanatan Baburao Tivde, Dastagir alias Dastu Karamat Khan, Vasant Maruti Koravi, Anthony John Baptist, Aslam Aziz Pathan @ Barkya, Nathu Bapu Mhaskar, Vikas Kundanmal Gupta, Jagannath Pandurang Chavan and Milind Ramchandra Bodke.

4.A perusal of the evidence recorded before me shows that the so-called enquiry held by Deputy Inspector General, Dhanajirao Chaudhary, hardly complied with the principles of natural justice. The enquiry was held on a complain

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