CHANDIGARH: From now convicts facing death penalty and confined in various jails of Punjab, Haryana and UT, Chandigarh, will not be kept in solitary confinement. A division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday made it clear that jail inmates on death row should not be kept in solitary confinement and should be kept with normal prisoners.
The directions were passed by the HC after allowing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate-cum-human rights activist, Navkiran Singh.
The petitioner had sought directions to convert into life imprisonment, death sentence awarded to 11 convicts currently lodged in various jails of Haryana. Directions were also sought against keeping them in solitary confinement.
Referring to the case of a prisoner Dharam Pal lodged in Ambala jail after a Sonepat court awarded him death sentence on May 5,1997, the petitioner contended that his mercy petition had been pending before the President since April 1999. Seeking directions against executing the death sentence, he also sought directions of transferring the prisoners to ordinary cells, instead of solitary confinement in view of the apex court observations in a case.
While contending before the court, advocate Navkiran had also submitted that in 1978, the Supreme Court had ruled in the case of Sunil Batra versus Delhi administration that an accused facing death penalty has all the legal remedies till his/her mercy petition was decided by the President Of India and he cannot be kept in solitary confinement. However till 2010, in Panjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, such convicts were kept in solitary confinement, violating the SC`s ruling, he said.
The directions were passed by the HC after allowing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate-cum-human rights activist, Navkiran Singh.
The petitioner had sought directions to convert into life imprisonment, death sentence awarded to 11 convicts currently lodged in various jails of Haryana. Directions were also sought against keeping them in solitary confinement.
Referring to the case of a prisoner Dharam Pal lodged in Ambala jail after a Sonepat court awarded him death sentence on May 5,1997, the petitioner contended that his mercy petition had been pending before the President since April 1999. Seeking directions against executing the death sentence, he also sought directions of transferring the prisoners to ordinary cells, instead of solitary confinement in view of the apex court observations in a case.
While contending before the court, advocate Navkiran had also submitted that in 1978, the Supreme Court had ruled in the case of Sunil Batra versus Delhi administration that an accused facing death penalty has all the legal remedies till his/her mercy petition was decided by the President Of India and he cannot be kept in solitary confinement. However till 2010, in Panjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, such convicts were kept in solitary confinement, violating the SC`s ruling, he said.
Source : The Times of India
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