Haryana begins roll-out of ‘e-custody’ system

Representational purpose.

With the Punjab and Haryana High Court formally giving its approval to implement the ‘e-custody’ system in Gurgaon’s Bhondsi Jail, Haryana has become the first state in the country to introduce a system of online custody certificates in jails. An official spokesperson said the e-custody system would be rolled out in all jails across the state within six months. Haryana’s Advocate-General Baldev Raj Mahajan said the system once fully implemented in all jails of the state would help in saving annual expenses of nearly Rs 50 lakh.

Deputy advocate general Himmat Singh, who is also the state nodal officer of Court Cases Monitoring System, said in the first phase, the e-custody system was being implemented in Bhondsi Jail and it has been designed by the Haryana prison department in association with a private firm for managing online delivery of custody certificates from different jails of the state.

“The implementation of the system would not only speed up the process of justice but also help in saving the time of Court considerably. Apart from this, at least 50 employees of the prison department, who are currently engaged in delivering custody certificates manually, will be spared the burden,” Singh said.