Seema Azad’s Unsilenced and From Phansi Yard by activist-lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj were the topic of discussion at Delhi's Press Club last week. Both books were born of incarceration.
The judgment followed a plea by a lawyer suffering from Becker Muscular Dystrophy, who said the prison lacked disabled-friendly facilities & that officials were insensitive, ill-informed.
In the last two months, the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC) has received 2,000 criminal appeals, a big uptick from the 700 to 1,000 it handled annually until last year.
D Ravikumar's letter to TN law minister follows MHA directive to states, UTs to end such discrimination in prisons. It says convicts are even allotted separate barracks based on caste.
In 245th report on prison reforms, panel also recommended mechanism to ensure proper care for transgender inmates, besides need for clear definition for 'young offenders'.
Panel has submitted 5 reports on jail administration, one being related to condition of death row inmates. It says to confine them in solitary cells breaches a 1978 SC judgment.
Delhi Prison Rules say work sheds and high-security enclosures, including cells, walls surrounding prison & staff offices, are kept under CCTV surveillance for 'monitoring purposes'.
In tactical terms, the shirtless protest was worse than a self-goal. Suddenly, the fiascos of the AI Summit were forgotten, and the Youth Congress’s disruption became the issue.
IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.
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