Bombay HC Seeks Data on E-Mulakat Facility in Jails

The Bombay High Court has sought details from the State government on the e-Mulakat facility available in jails across the state.

Justice Bharati Dangre asked for statistics on the number of accused produced before courts via video conferencing from jail and how many have been physically produced over the last six months.

The e-Mulakat facility, which allows prisoners to make video calls to their families, was a key focus of the court’s inquiry. The high court had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the lack of video conferencing facilities in courtrooms and jails statewide.

This issue came to light in a bail plea filed by Tribhuvansing Yadav, who claimed that his bail application in the lower court was adjourned 23 times because he was neither physically produced in court nor via video conference.

The high court previously noted that the government should allocate necessary funds to ensure all jails and courts in the state are equipped with video conferencing facilities, enabling virtual court appearances for accused persons. The bench reviewed a report from the state government detailing steps taken to install video conferencing cameras in district courts.

According to the report, 1,406 courts have yet to be provided with audio/video interfaces. The bench directed the government to submit statistics from prisons in Thane, Arthur Road Jail, Byculla Women’s Jail in Mumbai, Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai, Adharwadi (Kalyan), Yerwada (Pune), Kolhapur, and Nashik on the number of accused produced via video conferencing and physically over the last six months.

Additionally, the court sought clarification on the extent of e-Mulakat facility implementation in these jails. The court will hear the matter again on August 14, 2024.

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