COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This public interest petition suo motu registered by the High Court arises out of a judgment of the Supreme Court in case of Re-Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons dated 15.09.2017. In the said judgment, the Supreme Court has dealt at lengths on various aspects concerning the conditions of jail inmates in the country. Question of compensation for unnatural deaths in custody has been discussed with reference to past judgments. A distinction has also been drawn between such unnatural deaths being suicidal and homicidal. As a culmination of such discussion, series of directions were issued in the said decision, relevant portion of which reads as under:

(2.) In this public interest petition, the Court is examining the cases of deaths in various jails of the State after the year 2012. The respondents have stated that since the year 2012 in all four persons had died while in custody. In the order dated 17.12.2019, the Court had directed the respondents to file affidavit giving details of such persons, the circumstances under which the deaths took place, the amount of compensation, if any, paid to the relatives of the victims as also to give the details in case no compensation has been paid so far. Pursuant to such directions, an affidavit dated 13.01.2020 is filed by Shri Rajat Kumar Debbarma, Deputy Secretary to the Government of Tripura, Department of Home in which he has pointed out that for the two deaths due to natural causes, Human Rights Commission had recommended compensation of Rs.25,000/-, Rs.1,00,000/- respectively. However, in case of the prisoner Kanulal Ghosh, no relative has come forward to claim such compensation amount and the same is, therefore, lying with the State Government. In case of Jatindra Das, convict, amount of Rs.1,00,000/- is already paid over to the legal heirs of the deceased.

(3.) As elaborately discussed by the Supreme Court in said case of Re-Inhuman Conditions (supra), the State Government must take at least a part of the responsibility for unnatural deaths of prisoners even if such deaths are due to suicide. Firstly, sufficient care and caution must be taken so as to avoid any such unfortunate incidences which would include proper counseling and frequent meetings with the family members of the under trial prisoner or the convict as the case may be. Secondly, it must be realized that there has to be some lapse on part of the jail authorities if a prisoner can hang himself while still in custody. The questions such as how would he have procured a rope to hang himself and also the privacy to do so un-noticed would immediately spring to one's mind. In the present case, the incident is a quite old and in any case, we are not examining the question of any lapse on part of individuals or authorities. Nevertheless, as a system, the jail authorities must be alive to the fact that all efforts should be made to avoid recurrence of such instances.