New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked 10 states to respond to the alleged violation of human rights of prisoners on the death penalty.
The Director General of Police (Prisons) has been asked to answer the issue of solitary confinement, legal representation, rights to meet the prisoners’ families and the issue of psychiatric counseling for the death row convicts.
The bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked DGP (prison) of 10 states to answer the letter of Amicus Curiae lawyer Gaurav Agrawal, who raised the issue of alleged violation of human rights of jail manual and death row prisoners. The 10 states include Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Goa, Assam and Bihar.
The bench asked DGP (prison) to respond to May 8. The apex court expressed concern over the issue of the jails crowd across the country saying that the prisoners have human rights and cannot be kept as animals. The top court is hearing the case related to inhuman conditions in 1,382 jails across the country.