Social distancing enforced in Haryana jails, High Court told

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 18

The concept of social distancing has found its way into jails in Haryana. Prisoners in the Sirsa jail are maintaining a distance of between one metre and two metres among themselves and the staff following the Covid outbreak.

Information to this effect was furnished in the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of a second regular bail plea filed by a jail inmate behind bars in a drugs case.

In his petition before Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri’s Bench, Swaran Singh submitted that he deserved the concession of bail as Covid was prevailing in the state.

The Bench, during the course of hearing, was told that precautionary steps had already been taken by the prison authorities at the Sirsa district jail in view of the health crisis arising out of Covid.

Among other things, it was stated that even during the use of prison inmates’ calling system and canteen facility, a distance of at least one metre was maintained between the prisoners.

It was stated that gathering of prisoners had been stopped and intermixing of prisoners between barracks reduced to the bare minimum.

The Bench was told that places around the jail which could be used as a temporary prison in case of an outbreak had been identified.

It was stated that sports, games, cultural activities and other group activities involving physical contact had been stopped till further orders.

It was stated that physical appearance had been stopped and the accused were being produced only through video-conferencing in courts concerned as and when required.

The Bench was told that sanitisers had been placed at strategic locations across prisons and masks provided to all prisoners and prison staff, which were being disinfected on a daily basis.

It was stated that sanitisation of doors, railings, floors, beds, clothing, washrooms and other contact points was being ensured on a daily basis and duty staff being screened.

It was stated that an isolation ward had been set up in each prison for any kind of emergency and the jail hospital was being properly sanitised twice a day.

Turning down the petition, Justice Puri asserted: “I do not deem it fit and appropriate to interfere in the present (case) and, therefore, the present petition for the grant of bail to the petitioner is dismissed.”