Fully Functional E-Prison Website Essential For Justice Dispensation: Rajasthan HC Asks DG Prisons, Others To Resolve Issues With Site
Nupur Agrawal
2 Oct 2024 6:30 PM IST
"The fully functional e-Prison website is essential for dispensation of justice and it not being in a right shape, is a cause of concern to the Court," said the Jodhpur bench of Rajasthan High Court expressing its concern while hearing a criminal writ petition on the issue.
A division bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Munnuri Laxman in its order highlighted that several earlier orders of the coordinate benches of the high court passed in the shape of continuous mandamus have enabled the e-prison website to provide all the required information. It said that these orders enabled the website to be utilized in the State with "full bloom".
Taking into account the suggestion given by a senior advocate representing the Rajasthan High Court to the effect that all the authorities should gather in a meeting to try and resolve the issue and make the e-prison website fully functional, the Court scheduled the meeting on September 27.
“The details which are available on e-Prison website are vital to the present adjudication and thus, in the interest of justice, in addition to the orders already passed, this Court directs that...on 27.09.2024, a meeting comprising all the concerned authorities be held on 4:30 pm," it said.
The Court identified certain authorities including DG Prison, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajasthan High Court and the high court's Registrar CPC, Senior Technical Director, National Informatics Centre (NIC), Deputy Director General (DDG) of NIC etc, along with the amicus curiae appointed in the matter to attend the meeting.
The court identified these authorities as responsible for helping out in making the e-Prison website fully functional.
"They shall be required to find a solution to the issues which are preventing e-Prison website becoming from fully functional and in this series, they shall also take all necessary steps to execute the same.The suggestion of jail authorities, consuming the APIs shall also be duly considered and the Director General, Prisons shall be required to address the same in the conference/meeting," the court said.
Finally, the Court directed the Registrar, CPC, Rajasthan High Court to draw a report of the meeting and chalk out a plan to make the e-prison fully functional and submit such report on the next date.
It thereafter listed the matter on October 14.
Case Title: Rakesh v State & Ors.
