ORDER :

SUNITA AGARWAL, J.

1. This is a suo motu petition registered as Public Interest Litigation under the directions issued by the Apex Court in the judgment and order dated 26.02.2026 in Writ Petition (C) No(s). 1082 of 2020 in the case of Suhas Chakma Vs.Union of India and Others

2. The issue before the Apex Court, subject matter of directions contained therein, is pertaining to Open Correctional Institutions (OCIs) and concerning the provisions of Legal Aid to Prisoners. With respect to the issue relating to the OCIs, operative directions issued by the Apex Court in its decision are as under:-

“ IX. OPERATIVE DIRECTIONS

73. In view of the foregoing analysis, and in order to ensure that OCIs across the Country can be made meaningful and effective institutions so as to fulfil the constitutional, reformative and rehabilitative mandate, this Court considers it necessary to issue certain directions. The directions that follow are structured under the respective heads of consideration examined hereinabove, as well as certain ancillary and consequential aspects that are necessary for the effective operationalisation of the reformative framework analysed in detail and represent a concise distillation of the conclusions arrived at in the preceding paras. They are being issued to give concrete and enforceable effect to the constitutional principles, jurisprudential foundations, empirical findings and statutory obligations already discussed, and to secure timely and uniform implementation of the necessary corrective measures by the Union of India, States and Union Territories, so that OCIs operate as effective instruments of dignity, equality, rehabilitation and social reintegration within the criminal justice system.

A. Under-utilisation of Existing OCI Facilities and Absence of OCIs in Several States and Union Territories

(i) The States of Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Telangana, which presently do not have any functioning OCIs, shall, as a first step, undertake an assessment of the feasibility and necessity for establishing OCIs within their respective jurisdictions. Upon such assessment, the said States shall develop a protocol for the establishment of OCIs and/or open and semi-open barracks.

a. The protocol shall, inter alia, address issues relating to land allocation, extent of land, infrastructure development, construction, staffing, security arrangements and operational modalities. Where the establishment of standalone OCIs is found to be infeasible for valid and recorded reasons, the concerned States shall be duty-bound to create open and/or semi-open barracks within existing closed prisons situated within their territorial jurisdiction, so as to ensure that prisoners are not denied access to reformative correctional facilities.

b. The said protocol shall be placed before the Monitoring Committee constituted in each State under Direction F within a period of three months from the date of this judgment.

(ii) Noting that almost all States as well as NCT of Delhi have reported substantial under-utilisation of existing OCI facilities and open barracks within closed prisons, each State as well as NCT of Delhi shall:—

a. Develop a time-bound protocol for filling up existing vacancies in OCIs and open barracks;

b. Submit the said protocol before the Monitoring Committee constituted in each State and Union Territory under Direction F within a period of three months from the date of this judgment; and c. Ensure that the identified vacancies are filled within a further period of two months thereafter, subject to eligibility and security considerations. The compliance report shall be placed before the Monitoring Committee constituted under Direction F, within one month thereafter.

(iii) In respect of Union Territories lacking OCI facilities, namely Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Chandigarh; Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu; Jammu and Kashmir; Ladakh; Lakshadweep; and Puducherry,