Tihar prison officials warned not to bend rules on jailed relatives

The misuse of rules to transfer prisoners with blood relations within the jail has caught the attention of the authorities in Tihar who have warned officials to follow the rules strictly.

In a stern warning, the Delhi government’s prisons department has directed all jail superintendents not to bend the rules by allowing related prisoners to enjoy each other’s company during imprisonment. 

“All the concerned are directed to follow the instructions meticulously and scrupulously and any deviation would be viewed seriously,” said a circular issued on the order of Director General of Prisons.

The direction comes close to the AAP government’s differences with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung over interpretation of rules on the issue granting parole to former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

Chautala, 82, is serving a 10-year jail term in teachers' recruitment scam case. His son Ajay Singh Chautala and three others are also serving 10-year jail term in the case.

Additional Inspector General (Prisons) Mukesh Prasad has warned officials about irregularities regarding lodging of prisoners under the Blood Relation category.

“It has been observed that inspite of clear directions...proposals for transfer under Blood Relation are being forwarded to HQ in a mechanical manner,” he said in a note.

Jail sources said Director General (Prisons) has taken a serious view over the distortion of rules, apparently to benefit a few prisoners.

According to the rules, all the prisoners under the Blood Relation policy may be locked in jail as per the initial alphabet of the related prisoners.

All of them can be kept in that cell in which one of them, whose name’s initial comes later in the alphabetical order, is lodged.

For instance, if Ram and Shyam are real brothers they will be lodged together in the prison where prisoners with name starting with alphabet S are kept.Shyam cannot be sent to the jail where Ram is lodged. 

Earlier allegations of bending the rules surfaced when, Chautala sought parole for 60 days for treatment of some problem in his polio-afflicted legs.

Delhi Home Minister Saytendra Jain alleged Jung tried to mount pressure on him to facilitate Chautala’s parole by bending the rules a few months back. The charge, however, was denied by the LG’s office.

The veteran Haryana politician is now knocking on the door of the Supreme Court to get parole.