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Synopsis

A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Gauri Godse on Thursday directed the Taloja prison authority to install reverse osmosis (RO) plants in order to provide purified drinking water to the inmates.

The prison authority informed the court that they have made necessary arrangements to supply clean drinking water to the prisoners. They added that they have obtained 20 tanks with a capacity of 5,000 litres each from the public works department (PWD) for this purpose, and the installation process is currently underway.

The plea for sufficient water for prisoners was made by Abhay Kurundkar, a former police officer who is currently an inmate at Taloja Central Prison, in relation to the Ashwini Bidre death case. 

The petitioner in his plea had sought adequate water for the inmates of the jail. It was further prayed that CIDCO be directed to provide adequate water to Taloja Jail, as presently, the inmates are only getting 1½ buckets of water for the entire day, which is grossly inadequate.

The bench issued a notice to CIDCO on June 8. The counsel for the CIDCO and the section officer in its reply stated that the water supply in the jail was inadequate and that about three lakh litres of more water is required for the inmates.

Previously, the court had instructed the prison authority to ensure an adequate supply of clean drinking water for the inmates who had complained about insufficient water. The court emphasized that drinking water should be separate from the water provided for other activities. It emphasized that clean drinking water is a priority and considered it a basic right of prisoners.

In a brief affidavit, Taloja Prison Superintendent Dattatray Gawade stated that the water from two wells within the prison premises is solely used for cleaning and not for drinking purposes. Additionally, Gawade mentioned that there are currently 15 plastic water tanks available, each with a capacity of 5,000 litres, and they are cleaned on a weekly basis.

Gawade further stated that the water from the aforementioned tanks is sent for testing to the public health department at Konkan Bhavan, CBD Belapur, on a monthly basis. According to the report dated June 14, the tested water was deemed safe for drinking.

The high court asked Advocate Sandesh Manikhedkar, the advocate representing Kurundkar, to provide an update during the next hearing on August 7 regarding whether the inmates are receiving an increased amount of water.

Case title: Abhay Shamsundar Kurundkar vs State of Maharashtra