To rein in rogue inmates, Tihar jail to get a state-of-the-art security apparatus

The court’s directions came on a petition, alleging that 47 inmates in Tihar jail were mercilessly beaten up by security personnel inside the prison and that their human rights were violated by the jail authorities.

Tihar jail, one of the largest jails in the country with an inmate population of over 14,500, is set to get a state-of-the-art security apparatus,comparable to the best international practices followed in high security prisons.

The court’s directions came on a petition, alleging that 47 inmates in Tihar jail were mercilessly beaten up by security personnel inside the prison and that their human rights were violated by the jail authorities.

The Delhi High Court has set up a high-level committee to suggest measures for enhancing security at Tihar as well as the Rohini and Mandoli jails.

The court’s directions came on a petition, alleging that 47 inmates in Tihar jail were mercilessly beaten up by security personnel inside the prison and that their human rights were violated by the jail authorities.

The incident could not be recorded as only 19 CCTV camera out of the total 83 were operational in jail number three during that time.

“The committee will give specific suggestions on preserving the CCTV footage and procuring and maintaining state-of-the-art top quality servers and IT infrastructure required for the purpose,” a bench of justice S Muralidhar and justice IS Mehta said.

“Considering that the capacity of the jail is around 6,000, it is plainly overcrowded by over 100%. It is undoubtedly a high security zone. It should be needless to emphasise that the proper functioning of CCTV cameras in Tihar jail complex, on a continuous basis, is an non-compromisable imperative,” the court said.

“The commitee will suggest the protocol to be followed for disaster management and recovery in the event of a crisis...There cannot be any excuse of budgetary constraints in undertaking the above exercise given the nature of the task,” the court said.