PIL filed against appointment of male superintendents in special prisons for women

Chief Justice K.R. Shriram and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy seek State government’s response within two weeks

The Madras High Court on Thursday sought the response of the State government to a public interest litigation petition filed against deployment of male Superintendents of Prison at the special prisons for women in Vellore, Coimbatore, Salem and Madurai.

First Division Bench of Chief Justice K.R. Shriram and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed State Government Pleader A. Edwin Prabakar to take notice, returnable in two weeks, on the PIL petition filed by advocate P. Pugalenthi of Prisoners’ Rights Forum.

The petitioner’s counsel M. Radhakrishnan told the court that a post titled Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (Women Prisoners) was created in Tamil Nadu on May 25, 2009 and that the eligibility criteria for filling the post were notified on September 14, 2009.

Then, it was made clear that no person would be eligible to be appointed as DIG of Prisons (women prisoners) unless she had served as a superintendent of the special prisons for women for at least five years. However, the post of DIG of Prisons was lying vacant for last 10 years, the counsel lamented.

He also told the court that male Superintendents serving in other prisons in the State had been given additional charge of the post of Superintendent in all four special prisons for women thereby making it impossible for the women prisoners to ventilate their grievances during weekly meetings.

He insisted on issuing a direction to the State government to fill the vacancies of DIG of Prisons (women prisoners) and also that of the Superintendent in special prisons for women with eligible women officers.

Published - October 24, 2024 08:32 pm IST