Rajasthan HC disappointed over slow pace of jail reforms

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday expressed disappointment over the slow pace of jail reforms.
The division bench of Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Goverdhan Bhardar had summoned the state DGP, DG (jails) and additional chief secretary (home) to the court on Thursday over the slow pace of implantation of the 45 high court directive issued two years back.

Amicus Curie Prateek Kasliwal said that the home department has not appointed the non-official visitors to jail despite the court directive on October 22 last year and appointments are being made on political considerations than on the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court. Additional chief secretary (home) Deepak Upreti assured the court of appointment would be made within the next 15 days.

On the non-functioning of the Roti makers in jails, Upreti assured the court that new rotimakers would be purchased and the poor quality rotimakers purchased earlier would be returned and no payment would be made for the same.

The jail authorities informed the court that for the video conferencing facilities from jails to attend court proceedings without the undertrials being taken to the courts, the jail authorities informed that system installed in jails and the one operational at courts are non-compatible and the court directed the registrar programme coordinator at the high court to sort out the technical glitches.

Rajasthan High Court on Thursday directed the home department to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) under an IPS officer to inquire into the fake degrees issued in the name of CMJ University in Meghalaya and complete the probe within six months.

The single bench of Justice K S Ahluwalia issued the order on a petition by Suresh Kumari and others.

The petitioners said, though the police have registered cases against them for using fake degree certificates, the police have not made accountable the makers of the fake degrees which is a more serious crime.

The high court said that the Google map of the Dravyavati project site submitted by the JDA on Thursday is not clear and asked the JDA to submit the map of areas in slices of 2-3 km.

The division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and G R Moolchandani was hearing a PIL by P N Mendola.

The court had ordered the state government and the JDA to submit revenue records along with the super imposed map of the Dravyavati river from date on which Rajasthan Tenancy Act 1955 came in to force and till the Dravyavati River front project was launched.

It may be recalled that a large number of tenants have claimed to have their land at the proposed river front and had field cases in the court claiming compensation for the land acquired for the project. The matter will now come up for hearing on April 27.