Delhi High Court bats for law official in every prison

A law officer supervises all legal matters, drafts and files reply to the courts, follow up on cases and appear in courts along with the government counsel.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday suggested the appointment of law officers on a contractual basis in all the 16 jails in the capital for their better functioning. The court was hearing a plea which had alleged that there is only one law officer for all the jails in the city.

The court was hearing the plea by Sahni which had contended that there should be at least one law officer for each of the 16 jails. However (Photo: Pradeep Gaur/ Mint)

A law officer supervises all legal matters, drafts and files reply to the courts, follow up on cases and appear in courts along with the government counsel. The law officer also co-ordinates with various divisions within the jail for complying with directions of the courts and maintenance of monthly statistics of court cases among others.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said issue raised in the plea by lawyer and social activist Amit Sahni was a “good” one and the Delhi government should look into the matter.

The court was hearing the plea by Sahni which had contended that there should be at least one law officer for each of the 16 jails. However, contrary to the provisions of the Delhi Prisons Act, 2000 only one law officer caters to all the jails, the plea alleged.

Following brief arguments, the court granted time to the Delhi government to file their replies on the plea and posted the matter for September 27.

In his plea, Sahni had alleged that while there should be al law officer for every jail, currently there is only one law officer who is stationed at the prison headquarters at Tihar.

“There are 16 jails in Delhi and law officer (headquarters) is looking after legal matters of all 16 jails, including legal work pertaining to the headquarters. The legal work cannot be handed over to officer with ad-hoc arrangement,” the plea contended.

“Since the beginning, Tihar Jail is overburdened and despite setting up seven new jails outside the Tihar Jail campus, prisons in Delhi are overcrowded, thereby resulting in a stressful environment for officers and staff,” the plea further claimed.

The plea had sought appointed of law officer as per the rules within a time-bound manner.