Delhi’s prisons have a plan for inmates: Stop court visits, move hearings online

“It takes unnecessary manpower and time to escort a prisoner for physical hearings and can also possibly lead to the inmate interacting with several outsiders in court where they pass chits and interact with accomplices for nefarious purposes… Often, rival gangsters also come to court hearings which can lead to law and order problems,” a senior jail officer said.

In September 2021, jailed gangster Jitender Maan alias Gogi, lodged in a Haryana jail, was shot dead by assailants of rival Tillu Tajpuriya gang inside the Rohini court premises while he was being produced before the judge. The attackers had posed as lawyers.

All three city prisons – Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli – are now planning to augment their video-conferencing facilities and install them in each prison ward of the 16 jails.

“Currently, there is a polycom video conferencing facility and 5-10 Webex facilities inside each of the 16 jails of the three prisons… Once the proposal is accepted, we will upgrade our IT structure and are planning to have such facilities installed in each prison ward,” the jail officer added.

Out of 16 total jails, there are nine in Tihar, six in Mandoli and one in Rohini. “Every jail has around six-seven wards depending on the size of the jail, which is further divided into barracks. Barracks are further divided into cells where high-security prisoners are lodged,” the officer said.

Another jail officer, requesting anonymity, said: “This will reduce the number of interactions of the inmates so that he or she doesn’t get an opportunity to hatch an escape or a mischievous activity… It will also help save manpower and subsequent cost in escorting them to the relevant court… We have currently put the proposal to the Delhi government and are still awaiting a nod.”

Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Beniwal said the proposal, once accepted, will be highly efficient and will allow for safe escorting of prisoners. “It is on the higher authorities to give a go-ahead but we have already started upgrading our IT infrastructure to ensure a hassle-free prison management system,” Beniwal said.