Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: 17 November 2022 at 18:55 IST
The Delhi High Court has ordered the Tihar Jail’s Director General of Prisons to launch an expedited practical training programme for offenders enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Work degree at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
A division bench made up of Justices Mukta Gupta and Anish Dayal asked the DG (Prisons) to see that a suitable programme is created so that the field work or practical training requirements of the course the inmates are pursuing are satisfied inside the jail itself.
Before the next scheduled hearing date of November 28, the court has asked the DG (Prisons) for a report.
The decision was reached after Karan, a 24-year-old man who is appealing his conviction and sentence in a 2017 murder case, filed his appeal.
Karan recently submitted an application in his appeal, which has been waiting since 2020, asking for an interim suspension of sentence for a period of five weeks so that he could participate in a required practical training for the first semester of his Bachelor of Social Work at IGNOU.
In accordance with the High-Powered Committee’s 2020 recommendations, the trial judge granted Karan temporary bail. In addition, the High Court suspended his sentence for 35 days in July of this year. His request for the suspension of his sentence to be extended, however, was denied.
The Tihar Jail Superintendent was previously ordered by the court to cooperate with the Director of the IGNOU School of Social Work to develop a plan that would allow students to complete their fieldwork or practical training on-site at the jail.
The programme is to be developed with assistance from Prison authorities and a Welfare Officer in cooperation with Regional Officer Delhi-3, the bench was informed on November 9.
