The “inhumane” condition of inmates lodged at Kalyan Adharwadi Prison has irked the Bombay high court. Taking cognizance of a written complaint signed by 170 inmates of the jail, justice SC Dharmadhikari on Tuesday ordered a judicial probe into the allegations made by the prisoners.
“Several prisoners lodged in this jail have complained of deprivation of food and other basic necessities,” observed justice Dharmadhikari.
The court has now directed the Thane district principal judge to depute a judicial officer to visit the Adharwadi jail and submit a report within four weeks. “This court will then issue an order to ensure prisoners are not deprived of basic rights and necessities,” justice Dharmadhikari said.
The prisoners had complained that the canteen in the jail provides extremely degraded products that are sold at double the MRP rates. The food is totally unhygienic because of which five inmates have died, the complaint said.
The applicant, Nitin Telavane, also cited a shocking example of negligence that one day the morning tea given to all the inmates smelled horrible, as it was prepared with dirty water in which hands were washed.
The inmates also complained that no medical help is available in the jail. The doctor comes around 11.30 am and sits only for half an hour. And those who are extremely ill are not shifted to the central hospital unless money is paid.
Money orders for the prisoners are not released without deducting heavy commission by the jail officers. When the prisoners are taken to courts on their respective dates and when they bring along with them eatables and other daily consumables, they are not allowed to enter unless they pay money for that. In many cases, the goods are kept by the jail staff.
Hearing the submissions made by advocate Murtaza Nazmi and others, the court pulled up the jail officer present for the hearing. “Let the entire records be produced in the court and we will know the facts. Don’t make misleading statements or you will face consequences,” remarked justice Dharmadhikari.
The court has also directed the Arthur Road Central Prison, the Yerawada Central Prison, Thane and Kalyan Central Prison authorities to produce all the undertrials for every court hearing. The court was irked when Nazmi informed that one of the applicants, an accused in NDPS court, has been made to wait for the next hearing of his case for at least a year, as the special court has not examined a single witness in about a year.
“The accused has lost one full year. It is the misfortune of such prisoners,” remarked justice Dharmadhikari.
The applications will come up for hearing after four weeks.
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