SC Upholds Delhi HC’s Decision on Limiting Prison Visits

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Delhi High Court’s order, affirming that the decision to limit visits by prisoners’ families, friends, and legal advisers to twice a week is not “completely arbitrary.”

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal stated that they are not inclined to interfere with the high court’s decision, considering it a policy matter.

The Delhi High Court, in its February 16 order last year, justified the decision by stating it was made after careful consideration of prison facilities, staff availability, and the number of undertrials. The high court emphasized that in matters of policy, the courts do not substitute their conclusions with the government’s decision, and, therefore, it declined to issue a writ of mandamus.

The high court’s judgment was part of the disposal of a petition challenging specific provisions of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018. The petitioner, advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, sought an amendment to the rules to allow open interviews with legal advisers from Monday to Friday, with no cap on weekly interviews. In the interim, the petitioner requested more than two visits per week for legal counsel to meet their clients in Delhi prisons.

The high court permitted the petitioner to provide suggestions to the state, considering the PIL as not adversarial litigation and filed in the interest of prisoners. The high court acknowledged the state’s decision to cap the total number of visits, stating it was not entirely arbitrary and made after careful consideration of prison facilities, staff availability, and the number of undertrials.

The petitioner argued that limiting visits to twice a week violated Article 21 of the Constitution, restricting an undertrial’s right to adequate resources for legal representation. The petitioner contended that setting a cap on visits was manifestly arbitrary, imposing an unreasonable restriction on the right to legal representation, violating Article 14 of the Constitution, guaranteeing the right to access justice.

In response, the Delhi government stated that there are 16 jails in Delhi accommodating over 18,000 prisoners against the sanctioned capacity of 10,026. The government justified the decision to limit visits based on the number of inmates, stating that providing two legal interviews to a prisoner could be increased upon request, not violating the constitutional rights of the prisoner.