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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court has directed the state government and prison authorities to provide a detailed report justifying the exclusion of the e-mulakat facility for prisoners whose relatives reside outside the national capital. E-mulakat, or the e-meeting system, enables family members to engage in video calls with inmates after registration on the official website and obtaining permission from relevant authorities.

Expressing concern over the hardship faced by relatives who must travel from their native places to Delhi for jail visits, Justice Subramonium Prasad issued the directive.

The court specifically ordered the respondents to submit a status report explaining why the virtual meeting facility should not be extended to similarly situated prisoners with relatives residing outside Delhi.

"The respondents are also directed to file a status report as to why the facility of e-mulakat (virtual meeting) should not be extended to all the similarly situated prisoners whose relatives do not stay in Delhi, and for the purpose of mulakat, they have to come to Delhi from their native places," Justice Prasad stated.

The court's intervention came in response to a plea from a Tihar Jail inmate seeking the Delhi government and the Director General of Prisons to permit two e-mulakat sessions every week with family or friends. The petitioner, citing the critical illness of his bedridden mother, emphasized the importance of maintaining social ties.

Additionally, the plea sought permission for five minutes of tele-calling daily, citing a precedent set in the case of Pinjra Tod activist and accused in the Delhi Riots 2020, a larger conspiracy case, Natasha Narwal.

The petitioner had previously submitted a representation in May, outlining his family circumstances and the necessity for e-mulakat due to the ill health of his wife and mother residing outside Delhi. The state's counsel assured the court that the representation would be addressed within three weeks.

The high court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on November 29, anticipating a comprehensive response from the authorities regarding the extension of e-mulakat privileges to prisoners with non-Delhi-based relatives.

Case Title: Sohrab v. State (Govt of NCT of Delhi) and Anr.