On Tuesday, the Indian Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking its intervention in undertrial prisoner visits to the prisons in Delhi, the country’s capital. The petition sought to challenge the government’s rule limiting such visits to twice weekly.
Exercising their discretion, the Supreme Court, upon considering the arguments and the Delhi High Court’s prior ruling, chose not to entertain the special leave petition (SLP). An SLP is a discretionary remedy granted under Article 136 of the Indian Constitution, enabling parties to seek permission to appeal a decision from any court or tribunal across the country.
The SLP challenged a Delhi High Court order, which upheld the limitation on visits. The initiating public interest litigation (PIL) had questioned Rule 585 of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018, and sought its amendment to permit more open legal counsel interviews and abolish their weekly cap. According to this rule, prisoners are entitled to reasonable facilities for communicating with family, relatives, friends, and legal advisors. They are granted two interviews weekly and can send as many letters as their means allow.
The petitioners contended that the visitation restriction infringes upon their constitutional right to legal representation. As reasons for the visiting limits, the government cited issues with prison overcrowding. The Supreme Court declined to interfere in such policy matters, underscoring that judicial review should only intervene if a policy proves unconstitutional or grossly arbitrary. While no mandamus order was issued, the Court did allow the petitioner to propose suggestions to the government. The petition was ultimately disposed of with these observations.
For a more detailed account, refer to the full article here.