The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to study the concept of open jails to serve the personal liberty of the convicts.
The Division Bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Brij Raj Singh passed this order while hearing a PIL filed by Ishtiaq Hasan Khan.
Anurag Verma, A.G.A has informed that on verification of the status of the petitioner in this letter petition, it has transpired that the petitioner who was a convict and was serving the sentence in Model Jail, Lucknow, on an appeal having been filed against the judgment/order of his conviction and sentence, has already been acquitted vide judgment dated 24.7.2001.
Thus, the cause confined to the petitioner no more survives. By the Court order dated 7.2.2024, we had taken note of certain more issues keeping in view the larger interest of the convicts serving the sentence rendered in the respective trials by the competent courts of law.
The court had expressed a concern regarding the family condition of those convicts who were the sole breadwinners for their family reduced to a state of penury on account of the incarceration of their mukhiya. There may be a situation where the dependent family members might be faced with acute financial hardship and the children are deprived of fundamental education and health cover.
In order to ascertain the impact of incarceration upon the dependent family members at large and to look at the limited area of personal liberty of the convicts themselves, it was deemed proper to go into all such aspects of the matter in larger public interest. It is in the background of this part of human life that the consideration of these aspects becomes an important question of law which would require attention of the Court, the Court said.
In view of the above, the Court re-title the PIL as suo moto PIL for the welfare of the convicts and their dependent family members in U.P versus State of UP through Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Government of UP.
Anurag Verma, A.G.A may also obtain definite instructions and details in the light of the order passed by this Court on 7.2.2024 and may also bring on record the schemes evolved by other States on the subject, if any. The jail superintendents of all the jails within the State of U.P may also propose necessary measures to bring about reformative changes as may be necessary.
“A concept of open jails to serve the personal liberty of the convicts has been evolved in the State of Rajasthan, State of Maharashtra and other States need to be studied so as to evolve a better reformative mechanism. All such concepts on being studied and considered be brought to the notice of this court through a scheme or proposal as may be just and proper to serve the cause.
Let this exercise be completed by the State within a period of one month from.
This order shall be brought to the notice of the Additional Chief Secretary, Home as well as the Director General, Prisons and Jail Reforms for making necessary compliance so as to evolve a complete reformative mechanism in the large interest of convicts to serve the cause”, the order reads.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the PIL on 29.3.2024.