Telangana High Court
Sanjay Agarwal vs The State Of Telangana And Another on 9 June, 2022
Author: Lalitha Kanneganti
Bench: Lalitha Kanneganti
THE HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI
WRIT PETITION No.24703 of 2022
O R D E R:
This writ petition is filed seeking the following relief:
" ... to issue a Writ, Order or Direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus directing the 2nd Respondent to provide a basic Air-Cooler to her father Mr. Sanjay Kumar Agrawal on our own expenses in his cell as illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and violation of principles of natural justice and .....".
2. Sri Thakur Nitender Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner father is in jewellery business also executive member of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and has been a registered tax payer for more than 20 years. He was made as accused in ECIR/HZO/08/2012 and he is in remand in the said case from 11.02.2022. Petitioner's father was produced on PT warrant on 11.02.2022 before the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Nampally at Hyderabad and thereafter he was remanded to judicial custody. It is stated by petitioner's daughter as his GPA holder that her father has filed Crl.M.P.No.637 of 2022 before the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Nampally at Hyderabad under Telangana Prisons Rules, 1979, Chapter XXXIX Section 730 for special classification of UT prisoners as A-Class status and the said court vide order dated 30.03.2022 was pleased to allow the petition and recommended for consideration by the District Magistrate to be provided with A-class status to the petitioner in the 2 Central Prison, Chanchalguda Jail, Hyderabad. The District Collector, vide letter dated 12.04.2022 marked to the 2nd respondent requested for the special status classification to the petitioner in the Central prison as per the Telangana Prisons Rules. It is stated that from the last 15 years, her father is suffering with High blood pressure, Diabetics and Obesity and his body weight is above 100kgs and due to the heat waves during the summer and extreme rise in temperature, it is becoming extremely difficult for her father to survive in tough humid conditions and his health is deteriorating in the prison. It is submitted that she made a representation to the 2nd respondent on 29.04.2022 through her counsel requesting to provide her father/petitioner with a basic air cooler at their costs as the heatways during the summer and extreme rise in temperature affected his health. Even, the Ministry of Earth Science, Indian Metrological Department has also issued warnings in for the State of Telangana for heatwaves. It is submitted that the Hon'ble Supreme Court in S.E.B.I vs. Sahara India Real Estate Corpn. Ltd. & Others has granted the special facilities including air conditioner in jail to the prisoner. It is submitted that it is not a luxury but a basic necessity to provide air cooler to her father in the extreme conditions due to raise in temperature and hot summer. It is submitted that the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sunil Batra vs. Delhi Administration mentioned that no person can be personally subjected to deprivation not necessitated by the fact of the incarceration and the sentence of court and all other freedoms belong 3 to him to read and write, exercise and recreation, mediation and chant, creative comforts, like portion from extreme cold and heat, freedom from indignities like compulsory nudity, forced sodomy and other unbearable weight, movement within the prison campus subject to requirements of discipline and security, the minimum joy of self-expression, to acquire skills and techniques and all other fundamental rights tailored to the limitations of imprisonment. It is stated that the person belonging to the well reputed family and has been living good lifestyle in the society. It is stated that she has been requesting the respondents to provide an air cooler, but as the Telangana Prisons Act enacted in the year 1979, the same does not include an air cooler in the list of articles entitled to an A-class prisoner, thereby, the same could not be provided to him. It is submitted that in the modern era, the cooler in the picky heat becomes a basic necessity. Hence, requested to give a direction to the 2nd respondent to provide a basic air cooler to the petitioner.
3. Learned Government Pleader for home submits that as the case of the petitioner was recommended for consideration by the District Magistrate to provide with A-class status, accordingly, the Collector and District Magistrate, Hyderabad vide letter dated 12.04.2022 also requested to provide with A class status to the petitioner in Central prison and as per the orders of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Hyderabad and also orders of the Collector and District Magistrate, Hyderabad, the petitioner has been provided the facilities of A-class 4 prisoner according to the rules which have been prescribed by the A.P.Prison Rules, 1979 adopted by the State of Telangana. It is stated that the Central prison is having 20 bedded hospital with (3) posts of Medical officers and para medical staff in 24x7 surveillance and every prisoner including the petitioner is providing with all the medical facilities and necessary medical checkups conducting in their admissions as per the instructions of the NHRC, New Delhi and recording the same in the prescribed medical format. It is stated that in addition to the above, subsequent medical checkups also conducted to the required prisoners by the medical officers of the prison. It is submitted that as per Rule 730, the prisoners recommended for classification in the special class shall be tentatively treated as belonging to the class until the orders of District Magistrate concerned approving or reviewing the recommendation are received. It is submitted that according to the Rule 730, the prisoner is treated as A class prisoner and the petitioner is provided with all facilities like allowing to prepare own food, usual private clothing and also separate confinement by allotting special barrack with attached toilet fitted bathroom and round the clock water facility. It is submitted that the barrack of the prisoner is having (2) ceiling fans and the prisoner is also provided cot and pillow to sleep comfort and the place gives him a sense of privacy and safety. It is submitted that the prisoner is provided good diet as per the prescription of medical officer, but, there is no specific rule to provide cooler to the A class prisoners in 5 their own cost during their confinement at prisons of the state. He submits that as per the orders passed by the court, the petitioner has been with the facilities of A class prisoner and the facilities the petitioner is seeking of Air cooler is not provided in the rules of Prison Manual, 1979 of the State, as such, the petitioner is not entitled and the writ petition is liable to be dismissed.
4. Heard counsels on either side and perused the material on record.
5. The petitioner has been provided with all the facilities as he is entitled as per Chapter XXXIX of the Undertrial prisoners and as per the Rule 733 and as rightly pointed out by the learned Assistant Government Pleader, in the rules, there is no provision for an Air cooler.
6. The Andhra Pradesh Prisons Rules 1038 (1) to (7) speaks about diet, clothing, bedding, facilities for reading books and newspapers, letters and interviews prison tasks, and Rule 1038 (8) deals with furniture and that this furniture includes cot, table, chair, commode with pan, chamber pot, book shelf, jug for water, basin for washing hands and one lamp for reading where no electric light is available. Further Rules includes providing private cooking and eating vessels, toilet, handcuffing and fetters, razors. As per Note under Rule 8, the prisoners shall be allowed to supplement their furniture at their own expense, subject to the superintendent of the prison being satisfied that there is room for it in the quarters provided.
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7. Learned counsel for the petitioner having relied upon the rules to provide furniture to a prisoner has not stated as to what are the items that includes under furniture and it cannot be accepted that the cooler also includes in the furniture as per rules. As the respondents are providing the petitioner as per the orders of the Magistrate, A-class facilities which do not include the Air cooler, this court is not inclined to grant any relief.
8. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed.
Miscellaneous applications, pending if any, shall stand closed.
__________________________ LALITHA KANNEGANTI, J 9th June, 2022 gvl