The prisons authority told the Delhi supreme court Tuesday that jail inmates within the capital can now consult their private or legal aid lawyers via video conference.
The facility was earlier available just for consulting legal aid lawyers, but by a circular issued on Monday, July 6, all inmates altogether the jails can now use it to even consult their private lawyers, the prisons authority informed a bench of judge D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan.
Taking note of the submission made by Delhi government additional standing counsel Satyakam, appearing for the prisons authority, the bench said it had been not getting to interfere within the matter at this stage and issue any directions.
The court also said that the “government should tend free movement within the joints” during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic — “a situation never envisaged”.
The court was hearing two separate PILs moved by two lawyers — Sarthak Maggon and Ajit P Singh — challenging a Annunciation notification of the prisons authority suspending all legal interviews and family visits in jails in sight of the coronavirus outbreak.
The court said the restrictions on legal interviews were put in situ by the prisons authority to save lots of the lives of the inmates and with the issuance of the July 6 circular, the Annunciation notification was not applicable.
However, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Maggon, and advocate Lav Kumar Agrawal, appearing for Singh, expressed some reservations regarding the circular.
They said that privacy of the privileged communication between inmate and lawyer need to be maintained and no jail official should be within hearing range of the video conference.
Pahwa also said there was no clarity within the circular on how long it’ll fancy accept an invitation for video conference and allotment of a slot for an equivalent .
He said these should be wiped out a time bound manner, preferably within 48 hours.
Satyakam said no jail official would be in hearing range of the video conference.
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