Uttarakhand: Home Secretary had to pay heavily for not following the Supreme Court’s order on prison facilities, HC issued contempt notice

The Uttarakhand High Court heard a PIL filed regarding installation of CCTV cameras in the state’s jails, living arrangements of prisoners, development of their mentality, health and increase in honorarium. After today’s hearing, the court took the matter seriously as the state government did not comply with the Supreme Court’s order even after several years and issued a notice of contempt to the Home Secretary. It has also been asked to comply by September 30.

The High Court also said that if the state government complies with it before September 30, then inform the court or give an application to withdraw the contempt action. The date of September 30 has been fixed for the next hearing of the case. Today the case was heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal.

For many years, the High Court has been repeatedly giving directions to the state government to comply with the Supreme Court’s order regarding the arrangements in the jails. It is alleged that the state government is not following the orders of the Supreme Court and the High Court, whereas the Supreme Court had given orders to all the states simultaneously for the reform of the jails.

Many states followed it. But many years have passed and till now the state government has neither followed the guidelines of the Supreme Court nor the High Court. The High Court has been giving guidelines to comply with this order since 2015, which is not being followed till now. The court further said that leave aside the system of jails. Till date, the prisoners are being given less daily wages than a common laborer.

According to the case, Santosh Upadhyay and others filed separate PILs saying that the Supreme Court had issued an order in 2015 asking all the states to install CCTV cameras in the jails of their state and provide basic facilities to the jails. Orders were issued to fill the vacant posts of the Human Rights Commission in the state. But even after many years, the government did not follow the order of the Supreme Court. The petitioners say that the government should be directed to follow the instructions issued by the Supreme Court. Basic facilities should be provided in jails as well.