NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has directed the Director General of Prisons to promptly address concerns regarding the insufficient facilities for lawyers visiting their clients at Tihar Jail.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, has instructed jail authorities to respond to a representation filed on the matter within four weeks.
The decision came following a plea from Shyam Sunder Aggarwal, who highlighted the absence of basic amenities for lawyers meeting undertrial and convicted clients in Tihar’s premises.
According to the petitioner, advocates often face long waiting periods under challenging weather conditions, with inadequate access to necessities like clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, and parking within the jail’s expansive grounds.
The court expressed concern over the Delhi government’s reluctance to allocate funds for the facilities, noting, “They collect no taxes, they spend no taxes. Their policy is simple: we collect nothing, we spend nothing.”
Delhi government standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi informed the bench that the government had previously committed to expanding Tihar’s capacity to accommodate 20,000 inmates—more than double its current provision for 7,000 to 8,000 individuals. However, progress on this plan has stalled, with the court pointing out the lack of actionable steps and a sanctioned budget to execute these changes.
“Intent alone is not enough; there must be a sanctioned plan to achieve meaningful change,” remarked the bench.