'We Want To See What Exactly There Is On E-Prison Portal' : Supreme Court Directs To Arrange Demonstration Of E-Prison Portal

The Supreme Court today (September 25) directed the Registrar (Judicial) to arrange a demonstration of the e-Prison Portal at 4:15 pm on October 15. 

A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih is hearing a suo moto case (In Re Policy Strategy for Grant of Bail) where it has passed orders to ensure that prisoners who get bail are released without delay.

Through an order dated November 29, 2022, the Court included the issue of the e-prison module, which was subsequently extended across the country. The two aspects of the e-prison model regards to first updating the e-prison portal with data related to Court Cases (across the country) in coordination with the Prison Authorities and second pertains to the preparation of “Draft Information Sharing Protocol” by the National Information Centre (NIC).

The issue of the e-prison module came before the Supreme Court for the first time today. The Court considered the first aspect today on the e-prison portal developed by the NIC, Delhi under the auspices of the Ministry of Home Affairs. E-prison is a prison management portal which so far has connected 1,318 prisons across the country. It aggregates the entire records of inmates from the time they are admitted to their release. The portal intends to record the entire prison cycle of the prisoners.

The bench wondered what is the nature of the portal and how the data is collected by the portal. It should be noted that not all facets of the information on the portal are accessible to the general public. 

At the outset, Advocate Devansh A. Mohta, amicus curiae in this case, told the Court that the data is admitted as soon as a person is admitted to the prison. The details include personal details, case details, medical details and all other complete information required on prisoners. 

He added that the only persons authorised to upload the data on the portal are members of the Prison Department.

Glimpse of e-Prison Portal 

Although Mohta tried explaining to the Court what the portal looks like with the help of concept note, the Court suggested a demonstration of the portal would be a better option to understand the holistic working of the portal including the contents uploaded.

"Firstly, what we will have to see is what exactly is there on the portal. Unless we see that, we won't be able to appreciate it. How the portal works, what kind of data is available. We would like to see the portal first. It will be appropriate if we actually see e-prison portal developed by MHA and NIC. For the purpose, we direct the Registrar (Judicial) to arrange for demonstration of e-prison portal at appropriate conference hall at this court next October 15, 4:14 pm. Learned amicus and ASG [KM Nataraj] and learned counsel are free to attend. We also request the Registry to ensure Mr. Ashish Ratnakar, who represents NIC in the Supreme Court also present. After seeing the demonstration, we will hear Mr. Mohta for the notes submitted by him," the Court directed.

Shashikant Sharma, HOD and Sr. Technical Director of NIC also be present.

Emphasising the practical utility of the portal, Justice Oka said: "Here in Supreme Court and High Courts also, in a bail matter or an appeal against conviction, we want to know how much a person has undergone. We have to adjourn a matter to get physical data. Whether courts have access to the data, who has access to the data whether States Government [needs to be considered]"...In so many cases we come across where High Court grants bail and nobody is aware of the order of bail and for days the person is not produced before the trial court. So, in the Supreme Court, we pass order producing him before the trial court within some days so that he completes the formalities. It is in the sense that we have to pass some further orders imposing duties on the jail authorities to ensure that the person is taken to the concerned court for completion of bail formalities."

Case details: IN RE POLICY STRATEGY FOR GRANT OF BAIL SMW(Crl) No. 4/2021

 Appearance: Advocate Devansh A. Mohta (Amicus Curiae)