The Kejriwal government has approved the decision to give compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh to the family members or legal heirs of prisoners who die of unnatural causes in Delhi jails. The Delhi government has sent a proposal in this regard to the Lieutenant Governor for his approval.
This compensation will be given in cases of unnatural death due to fights between prisoners in jail, beating by jail staff, torture, negligence by jail officials, or negligence by medical or paramedical officials. However, the compensation will not be admissible in cases of unnatural death due to suicide, attempt to escape from jail or lawful custody outside the jail or natural death, disaster or calamity. Apart from this, it will also not apply to deaths due to disease.
The plan will be effective after approval
In a statement, Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gehlot said that the Delhi government is confident that this move will lead to reforms in prisons and reduce any kind of negligence. Once approved, the policy will be effective from the date of notification.
Jail superintendent will submit the report
In fact, in this regard, the concerned jail superintendent will have to submit a detailed report, which will include a copy of the magistrate investigation report, postmortem report, final cause of death, medical history at the time of admission to the jail and details of any medical treatment provided before death.
The report will also be given to NHRC
This report will be sent to the Director General of Prisons, Delhi for submission to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for information. A committee headed by the Director General of Prisons, comprising Additional Inspector General of Delhi Prisons, Resident Medical Officer, DCA and Law Officer will review the report and decide on releasing compensation as per rules.
This action will be taken on the jail employee
The proposal will require the committee to meet every quarter or once as required to consider cases of custodial deaths. The Director General of Prisons will have to inform the NHRC once the compensation has been paid to the family of the deceased. The policy also has a provision for recovery of the compensation amount from the salary of the guilty jail officials. For this, the committee will have to investigate and if any jail employee is found to be directly involved in the custodial death, then the committee can order recovery of the compensation amount from the salary of the guilty officer in the manner it deems appropriate.
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