[2026:RJ-JD:9596]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 442/2026 Pawan S/o Shri Sukh Lal, Aged About 25 Years, R/o-Herata Phala Mali, P.s. Vardha, Distt.doongarpur. At Present In Central Jail, Bikaner. Through His Mother Smt. Champa Devi Roat W/o Shri Sukh Lal, Aged 62 Years, R/0-Dharti Mata, Post-Herata, Distt.doongarpur.

----Petitioner Versus

1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Pp 2. The Director General Jail, Jaipur.

3. The Superintendent Central Jail, Bikaner.

4. The Superintendent Of Central Jail, Udaipur.

----Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Ms. Ranjana Singh For Respondent(s) : Mr. Surendra Bishnoi, AGA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE FARJAND ALI

Order

23/02/2026

1. By way of the present Criminal Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner, acting through his mother, has invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court seeking a direction to the State authorities for his transfer from Central Jail, Bikaner to Central Jail, Udaipur.

2. The factual backdrop culminating in the present writ petition discloses that the petitioner has remained in judicial custody for a period more than five years in connection with offences registered under Sections366, 376(3) IPC & Section 5(I)/6 of the POCSO Act. At present, he is lodged in Central Jail, Bikaner, which lies at a considerable distance from his native place as well as from the residence of his family members.

3. This Court has heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the State, and has perused the material available on record with due circumspection.

3.1. It has been strenuously contended on behalf of the petitioner that his parents are of advanced age and are beset with multiple medical ailments, rendering them physically enfeebled and incapable of undertaking arduous travel. The substantial geographical distance separating their place of residence from Central Jail, Bikaner, poses an insurmountable impediment, effectively depriving them of the opportunity to visit the petitioner. Their frail health and limited mobility further exacerbate their inability to maintain regular contact.

3.2. It has additionally been urged that the petitioner’s family is constrained by limited financial means and is thus unable to sustain the recurring expenditure necessitated by long-distance travel. Consequently, the petitioner has been largely bereft of familial interaction and the attendant emotional sustenance during the course of his prolonged incarceration. Emphasis has also been laid on the precarious health condition of the petitioner’s mother, who is similarly incapacitated from travelling such distances. In these circumstances, a prayer has been advanced seeking transfer of the petitioner to a correctional facility situated in closer proximity to his native place, so as to enable his family members to visit him without undue hardship and to preserve essential familial bonds.

3.3. The relief sought in the present petition is thus predominantly humanitarian in character, premised upon the genuine hardship faced by the petitioner’s ailing and aged mother, who is unable to undertake long and strenuous journeys. The transfer is sought not as a matter of convenience, but to ameliorate such hardship and to facilitate continued familial association during the petitioner’s incarceration.

4. The controversy raised in the present matter is squarely covered by the order passed by this Court in SB Criminal Writ Petition No. 3288/2025, Sunil @ Jenter vs. State of Rajasthan, decided on 05.02.2026, wherein this Court had occasion to consider an analogous issue relating to the transfer of a prisoner on humanitarian grounds. The relevant observations made therein are reproduced as under:

3. Upon an objective consideration of the facts, this Court notes that the petitioner’s family members reside within the same city and belong to a modest socio-economic background. In such ci