SRINAGAR: CJI, High Court of J&K&L and Patron-in-chief, J&K Legal Services Authority, Justice N. Kotiswar Singh visited the Central Jail here to assess the conditions of the prisoners and the quality of legal aid services being provided to them.Amit Gupta, Member Secretary of the J&K Legal Services Authority, and M. K. Sharma, the Chief Justice’s Principal Secretary, were in the Chief Justice’s company. The Chairman of DLSA Srinagar, Jawad Ahmed, and the Director General Prisons, J&K, Deepak Kumar, welcomed the Chief Justice upon his arrival at Central Jail. Daljit Singh, the superintendent of the Central Jail in Srinagar, Raja Zuhaib, the SP for the North Zone in Srinagar, and other Central Jail staff members were also there.The CRPF unit stationed at the Central Jail also provided the Chief Justice with a ceremonial guard of honour upon his arrival. The Chief Justice visited every barak during the visit, spoke with the inmates extensively, and listened calmly to their complaints and worries. The Chief Justice gave the prisoners assurance that their legitimate complaints would be handled and gave immediate instructions to those involved in making sure that the complaints raised by the jail inmates were resolved as soon as possible. The Chief Justice had fruitful conversations with Central Jail Srinagar convicts, legal aid volunteers, and prison staff during the visit. During the encounter, every jail inmate acknowledged that they are being represented in the relevant courts, wherever their cases are pending, either by counsel hired by them or by counsel provided by the appropriate District Legal Services Authorities. The Chief Justice instructed the jail staff to connect to the District Court in Srinagar in order to evaluate the usefulness of the video conference facility offered in the Central Jail. He then engaged with the system assistant and expressed his pleasure with the facility’s performance. The Chief Justice also emphasised the need of preserving inmates’ basic rights, maintaining their access to justice, and providing them with sufficient legal assistance. The Central Jail in Srinagar’s Legal Aid Clinic was also examined by the Chief Justice, who highlighted its critical role in offering convicts legal aid. The Chief Justice expressed his pleasure with the clinic’s operation and commended the painstaking work of the committed legal paralegal volunteers for defending the rights of detainees.The Central Jail’s Medical Unit, Recreational Unit, Tailoring Unit, Gym, Carpentry Unit, Vet Canteen, Mulaqaat Centre, Calling Booth, and other units were also inspected by the Chief Justice. On this occasion, DG Prisons gave the Chief Justice an assurance that the necessary steps would be done as soon as possible to decongest the Central Jail in Srinagar and to build more restrooms for the jail’s prisoners. Relevantly, the main goal of the visit was to evaluate the efficiency of the Legal Aid Clinic created in the Central Jail Srinagar in addition to taking stock of the circumstances and amenities accessible to the detainees.
