Jail no bar

The Chautalas,for instance,appear to think of their incarceration in Delhis Tihar jail as an inconvenience to be got around. Last week,Ajay Chautala addressed a political rally in Sonepat,through his mobile phone. Apart from speechifying,he conveyed news about his fathers health and asked about his supporters well-being. Tihar officials are now preparing a report on how this subversion of the jail manual was allowed. The Chautalas are far from exceptional in this regard. Nearly everyone with a claim to VIP status displays their difference from other prisoners demanding more than the allotted number of visitors,special amenities. Often,they wheedle favours out of jail officials. Tihar officials have found internet data cards and pen drives,cell phones and SIM cards that were smuggled in for these high-profile prisoners. Some prisoners are more egregious than others. Bihars Mohammad Shahabuddin,who has had 56 cases lodged against him,used to hold durbars from prison or hospital,arrange transfers and postings. Former Punjab minister Bibi Jagir Kaur,while in prison for wrongful confinement and kidnapping of her daughter,was known to have arranged for uninterrupted access to her TV and cellphone,and conducted meetings with her colleagues in the visitors room.

The fact that politicians,even when caught and convicted,seem to carry on untroubled,deepens public cynicism about politics. As long as the jail manual applies only to some and can be flouted with impunity by others,the systems fairness will be questioned.