Punjab & Haryana High Court Takes Suo Moto Cognisance Of Prisoners Carrying Mobile Phones After Lawrence Bishnoi's Interview

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has taken suo moto cognisance against usage of phones inside jail premises by inmates and has sought to know "what steps are in place to curb the entry of such prohibited items."

While issuing notice to both the States and UT, the division bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Kirti Singh also took note of the interview given by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who is accused in Siddhu Moosewala murder case. Bishnoi was in judicial custody when the interview was telecast.

"It is a matter of grave concern that a suspect in police or judicial custody has been allowed to conduct an interview at length. The officers who permitted or facilitated the interview, need to be identified and taken to task at the earliest," the bench remarked.

An enquiry into Bishnoi's location when when the interview was conducted is ongoing. "A two member Committee comprising of Special DGP, ST and the Additional Director General of Police, Prisons had been constituted in March 2023 to enquire into the same and the enquiry is underway," Inspector General of Prison submitted.

At this juncture, Court expressed its dissatisfaction that 7 months have elapsed "but not much headway has been made". It therefore directed the Additional Director General of Prisons to file an affidavit as to "why it has taken so long for the Committee to submit its report."

While listing the matter for November 28, the Court appointed Advocate Tanu Bed as amicus curiae.

Appearance: Ishma Randhawa, Additional Advocate General, Punjab

Bijender Dhankhar, Additional AG, Haryana.

Munish Bansal, PP, UT, Chandigarh.

Sumit Kumar, Advocate for Tanu Bedi, Advocate, amicus curiae.