New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Rajasthan government to refrain from tinkering with the layout plan of an open-air prison in Jaipur and emphasised that its main purpose is to bring inmates into mainstream society.
A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said, “The main purpose is to bring them into the mainstream of society. We direct the state government to file an undertaking that the layout plan as prepared and approved by …will not be altered any further…”. Semi-open or open prisons allow convicts to work outside the premises during the day to earn a livelihood and return in the evening. It was introduced to assimilate the convicts into society.
The apex court was hearing a contempt plea alleging tampering with the proposed layout plan meant for constructing an open jail in Jaipur on a plot measuring 17,800 square metres.
The bench declined to entertain the contempt plea, saying the inmates will get decent housing and a place for recreation if the project is completed. The bench said that the proposed open jail and the adjacent hospital in Jaipur are separated by an over 34-meter wide road.
The bench, however, said that the open area in the premises of the open prison cannot be used by the patients and their relatives who would be visiting the proposed hospital after it is constructed and made functional.
“We further direct that the open recreational space can be used by the inmates and their children only,” said the apex court.
“Vide our earlier order, we had directed the Registrar of this court to inspect the site and submit a report. Judges of this court have physically inspected the premises. The report reveals that the proposal of the state for the establishment of a hospital and the modernisation of an open prison is a feasible one,” the bench said.
The top court had previously directed several states and union territories to provide complete information on open prisons, while hearing a PIL to explore the possibility of setting up open prisons as a solution to overcrowding and inhumane conditions in traditional jails in the country.
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