Conditions of jails in Rajasthan: High Court summons ACS(Home)

Rajasthan High Court has directed the state government to explain the reason for being "less than sensitive" towards the conditions of prisons and its inmates in the state.
A division bench comprising Justices Mohammed Rafiq and Nisha Gupta noted their displeasure over the approach adopted by the state government in providing basic amenities in the various Central Jails in the state and directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to appear before it.
The court had taken suo moto cognisance of the matter on March 14.
Some media reports in state had highlighted high-level of mobile use in the central jails in Rajasthan.

The bench has framed various issue related to sanitation, food, health care, recreational activities, educational activities, vocational training and infrastructure.
The bench had also called for the affidavit of the home secretary earlier after the various district judges supplied their inspection reports regarding "pathetic conditions" of jails in the state.

The division bench while passing an interim order calling the ACS (home) on Friday observed, "We are not at all satisfied with the kind of approach taken by the Government on various issues repeatedly raised by this court in earlier orders for securing basic human rights to the prisoners lodged in different Jails of the state."

The bench maintained that the court instead of passing any specific order has left it to the wisdom of the government to take corrective steps on the various reports that were filed by district judges in their sudden inspection highlighting "pathetic" conditions of jails in state but the government has shown no respect to the court's order.
"We are, however, constrained to observe that the government has been less than sensitive to the plight of the prisoners. We, therefore, deem it appropriate to summon the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and director local bodies to appear on April 8.