CHENNAI: Soon, photographs of jails and lock-ups in the State would be displayed on the police departments website, enabling the general public to know the conditions of prisons in Tamil Nadu.
Madras High Court also directed the TN State Legal Services Authority (TNSLA) to conduct surprise inspections at women’s prisons across the State.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice TS Sivagnanam passed the order on a suo motu petition initiated in 2006, in the wake of news reports that women prisons in the Sate lack basic facilities.
After a report submitted by advocate-commissioner Sudha Ramalingam on June 2, highlighting lack of basic amenities in women prisons, the court directed prison authorities to set right the deficiencies within four weeks and ordered the ADGP (In-charge for prisons) to be present in the court on the next hearing if the order was not complied with.
When the case came up for hearing on Thursday, the government pleader sought three more months to comply with the order. Accepting the request, the bench directed the TNSLA to conduct surprise inspection after the three months period and take photographs of the conditions of the jails.
“The photographs shall be published in the website of police department, enabling the people at large to know what is the condition of the jails and lock-ups in the State,” the bench added.
While deciding the issue of territorial hospital of Puzhal prison, the bench directed the State government to declare Stanley government hospital, closer to the prison, as its territorial hospital instead of Royapettah hospital before next hearing.
The bench then posted the matter to November 11.