'Can't accept that officials can beat inmates'

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday, while hearing a prisoner's petition alleging violence by officials inside Tihar, told prisons authorities that the jail premises were the "backroom" of courts and judges and said that officials beating up prisoners in jail was the same as judges beating them.

The vacation bench of Justices Anup Bhambhani and Jasmeet Singh went on to say that this is the reason people seem to be avoiding extradition to India. "They go and say 'look this is what happens in Indian prisons. People get beaten up'," the bench said.

The court was hearing a plea by a prisoner who alleged violence against jail officials and sought a prison transfer. Jail officials, however, in response, argued that the petitioner was seeking transfer to be closer to his friends and that claims of "victimisation" were false. During the hearing, Delhi government Standing Counsel Sanjay Lao pointed out that worse things happened in prisons in the United States, when the court shot back, asking if India was in a race with other countries.

When the counsel noted that the only question was of whether the "excessive" force was used, the court said this was precisely the problem with the jail officials. It said the prison authorities do not believe beating up people is wrong.

"If you were to take a man into my chambers and beat him up, will I stand up for it? This man is in our custody, under the custody of the court. You are our agents. If you beat him up, that means we beat him up," the court said.

The bench went on to say that it cannot accept an argument that jail officials can beat up the inmates. "You have to be more vigilant. You have to see these incidents don't occur. How can you tell us that you are beating up prisoners and we should be party to it?" asked the bench, according to reports of the hearing on Friday.

The court eventually directed the DG Prisons to dispose of the prisoner's complaint in five working days and also directed him to decide on the possibility of his prison transfer, while posting the matter next for hearing on July 5.