VIJAYAWADA/HYDERABAD: Making it clear that the Legal Services Authority of the respective states would play a crucial role in identifying and curbing overcrowding of prisoners, a division bench of the High Court on Tuesday directed the legal services authority of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to submit details regarding the state of affairs of various prisons in the states.
The bench sought to know the statistics of convicts and undertrials who were languishing in prisons in both the states for want of legal aid and other help to them. “Whether the prisons are overcrowded than its capacity and whether the prisoners have been languishing in jails due to lack of legal aid and other related details have to be placed before the court”, said the bench comprising chief justice TBN Radhakrishnan and justice Ramesh Ranganathan which was dealing with a suo-motu PIL following recent directions by the Supreme Court in a case relating to “inhuman conditions in 1,382 prisons”.
The apex court, in its order, expressed dissatisfaction at the efforts and endeavour put in by the state governments to reduce overcrowding in prisons, which was beyond 100 to 150 per cent, and it was in violation of human rights as well. The court found that there were 1,382 prisons in the country which were overcrowded and have inadequate staff to maintain prisons in good condition. The court said out that the prison authorities were showing least interest in having adequate staff in prisons and, which is leading to haphazard administration in prisons.
Taing these submissions into consideration, the bench directed the legal services authority to submit details on the issue and posted the matter to July 31 for further hearing.