Jharkhand High Court
Stan Swamy & Anr vs State Of Jharkhand & Ors on 19 June, 2018
Author: D.N. Patel
Bench: Amitav K. Gupta, D.N. Patel
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P.(P.I.L) No.4212 of 2017
Stan Swamy & Anr. ..... Petitioners
Versus
State of Jharkhand & Ors. ..... Respondents
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CORAM: HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMITAV K. GUPTA
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For the Petitioners : Mr. Deepak Kumar, Advocate For the State : Mr. Ajit Kumar, A.G
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08/Dated: 19th June, 2018 Oral Order Per D.N. Patel, A.C.J
1. We, hereby, direct the Advocate General of the State to appear on behalf of the State of Jharkhand in this case.
2. The Advocate General has appeared in this case and now he is seeking time to get further instruction, because prima facie it appears that there are several cases in which sanction is required under the law, especially, in the law like Explosive Substance Act, 1908, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 to be read with Section 153-B of the Indian Penal Code as well as under Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Annexures - 3, 6B and 7B of the memo of this writ petition shall be properly replied by the Advocate General of the State. Affidavit which has been filed is not up to the mark of satisfaction. If there is any need of filing an affidavit by the Advocate General of the State of Jharkhnad, he is at liberty to file the same.
3. Para - 56 of the judgment delivered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Civil) No.406 of 2013, judgment dated 05.02.2016, reads as under :-
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"56. The sum and substance of the aforesaid discussion is that prisoners, like all human beings, deserve to be treated with dignity. To give effect to this, some positive directions need to be issued by this Court and these are as follows:
1. The Undertrial Review Committee in every district should meet every quarter and the first such meeting should take place on or before 31-3-2016. The Secretary of the District Legal Services Committee should attend each meeting of the Undertrial Review Committee and follow up the discussions with appropriate steps for the release of undertrial prisoners and convicts who have undergone their sentence or are entitled to release because of remission granted to them.
2. The Undertrial Review Committee should specifically look into aspects pertaining to effective implementation of Section 436 CrPC and Section 436-A CrPC so that undertrial prisoners are released at the earliest and those who cannot furnish bail bonds due to their poverty are not subjected to incarceration only for that reason. The Undertrial Review Committee will also look into issue of implementation of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 particularly with regard to first- time offenders so that they have a chance of being restored and rehabilitated in society.
3. The Member-Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority of every State will ensure, in coordination with the Secretary of the District Legal Services Committee in every district, that an adequate number of competent lawyers are empanelled to assist undertrial prisoners and convicts, particularly the poor and indigent, and that legal aid for the poor does not become poor legal aid.
4. The Secretary of the District Legal Services Committee will also look into the issue of the release of undertrial prisoners in compoundable offences, the effort being to effectively explore the possibility of compounding offences rather than requiring a trial to take place.
5. The Director General of Police/Inspector General of Police in charge of prisons should ensure that there is proper and effective utilisation of available funds so that the living conditions of the prisoners is commensurate with human dignity. This also includes the issue of their health, hygiene, food, clothing, rehabilitation, etc.
6. The Ministry of Home Affairs will ensure that the Management Information System is in place at the earliest in all the Central and District Jails as well as jails for women so that there is better and effective management of the prison and prisoners.
7. The Ministry of Home Affairs will conduct an annual review of the implementation of the Model Prison Manual, 2016 for which considerable efforts have been made not only by senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs but also persons from civil society. The Model Prison Manual, 2016 should not be reduced to yet another document that might be reviewed only decades later, if at all. The annual review will also take into consideration the need, if any, of making changes therein.
8. The Undertrial Review Committee will also look into the issues raised in the Model Prison Manual, 2016 including regular jail visits as suggested in the said Manual."
(emphasis supplied)
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4. The aforesaid direction given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court shall be properly appreciated by the State of Jharkhand whenever they will argue their matter on the next date of hearing.
5. We also direct the State of Jharkhand to file reply of I.A. No.5013 of 2018 preferred in this writ petition, especially, the details which are to be given by the State, as mentioned in para - 15 of this interlocutory application.
6. This matter is adjourned to be listed on 27.07.2018.
(D. N. Patel, A.C.J) (Amitav K. Gupta, J) Chandan - Biswas/-