Inmates leaving prisons for their hearings in court will now be given “transparent plastic tiffin box” so that they would not have to go hungry for the day.
Following the order of the Bombay High Court, the director General of Prisons (DGP) Srikant Savarkar has issued circulars to superintendents of all prisons in Maharashtra asking them to provide transparent tiffin boxes to the inmates while they are leaving the jail premise for court hearings.
The DGP was called to HC pursuant to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) complaining that since prisoners leave for the court about ten in the morning, they miss the lunch, and if they return late, they do not get the last meal of the day too.
Public prosecutor Satish Borulkar produced the circular before the division bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice D.B. Bhosale which stated that the transparent plastic boxes would be 6 X 8 inches with prison logo that the inmates can purchase form the prison canteen for Rs 10 only.
They would be provided with sabzi and roti (vegetable and chapatti). However, the tiffins would be checked when the prisoners return and there is any leftover, it would have to be disposed off.
On return, they must be given the evening-time meal too, the directive states. A board informing about these directives should be put up inside every jail, and the prisoners must be informed about the directive, it further says.
