HC grants time to DG jail to submit affidavit on overcrowded jails

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh high court has granted the Director General (Prisons) three weeks to submit a detailed affidavit regarding overcrowded jails in the state. A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, said that no further extensions would be granted the DG could be asked to personally appear if the directive is not complied with.The High Court issued an order on September 5, 2023, instructing the DG (Jail) to file a personal affidavit along with data on the current position of inmates in jail and the latest status report of all other jails.The counsel on behalf of the state reported that 10.2 hectares of land had been earmarked at Patharra village in Bemetara district, and the said land had been allotted to the jail department for the construction of jail buildings. Necessary administrative and technical approvals had been accorded by the competent authority, and construction of the open jail had already commenced.The construction process is underway and is expected to be completed by July 2024. The state counsel submitted a copy of the current status of the construction of the jail provided by the PWD Executive Engineer to substantiate the fact. Regarding the construction of the jail at Raipur, the PWD had provided Rs 436.1377 crore for the construction of the jail at Godhi village, RI Circle Mandir Hasaud, Raipur. Concerning the construction of the jail at Bilaspur, it was submitted to the Court that the work order awarded to the successful bidder had been canceled on March 6, 2023, resulting in the fourth NIT being issued for the interested bidder for the construction of the jail building at Bilaspur, which has already been published. The state counsel also mentioned a decrease in convicted jail inmates as well as under trial prisoners.Meanwhile, during the hearing, the division bench of the High Court asked the state government in writing to explain when the work on the special and new jails will be completed. A timeframe of four weeks has been given for this purpose, and the next hearing is scheduled for February. The case has been ongoing for the past 10 years.The Bilaspur Central Jail has a capacity of 948, but it currently houses 2557 inmates. Similarly, the Raipur Central Jail, with a capacity of 1130, currently accommodates 2540 prisoners. The overcrowding in jails has led to poor conditions.The issue was raised by petitioner Shivraj Singh of Bilaspur in the High Court. The public interest petition highlights the overcrowding of prisoners in 5 central, 10 district, and 12 sub-jails of the state, leading to significant mismanagement in the jails.To address the problem, the government informed the High Court that the construction of special jails in Raipur and Bilaspur is underway. It is expected that the situation of overcrowding will be significantly reduced once these special jails are operational.