The Hindu : New Delhi News : “Install drop boxes for complaints at Tihar”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 08, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

“Install drop boxes for complaints at Tihar”

Staff Reporter

To let prisoners drop their complaints to the National Human Rights Commission

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Tihar Central Jail authorities here to install drop boxes on the jail premises to allow prisoners to drop their written complaints to the National Human Rights Commission.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice B. N. Chaturvedi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna issued the direction on a recommendation by NHRC that the jail authorities should provide drop boxes for prisoners to register their complaints, if any, against prison officials.

To improve conditions

The drop boxes recommendation is part of a series of recommendations by the Commission to improve the living conditions inside the prison. The Bench was hearing a public interest litigation seeking an enquiry into the death of six inmates in the jail in June this year.

The petitioner, social activist Salek Chand Jain, said the inmates were living there in a pitiable condition.

‘Put up notices’

The Bench also directed the jail authorities to put up notices in the jail premises and organise an interactive session of the prisoners with NHRC officials to inform them about the drop box facility to lodge their complaints.

Earlier, counsel for the Commission submitted that the jail authorities should also use facilities of private hospitals that had been given land at concessional rates to provide medical care to the inmates.

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