Consider providing facility to converse with deaf inmates: Allahabad High Court to UP jail authorities

The Allahabad High Court has asked Uttar Pradesh jail authorities to consider taking measures to facilitate conversation with deaf and dumb jail inmates (Ashma Izzat v. State of Uttar Pradesh)..The Bench of Justices Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I said in its order,"In these circumstances, this petition is though dismissed so far as prayer No.1 is concerned, however we also provide that in case the petitioner makes an appropriate application to the Superintendent/Senior Superintendent of Jail concerned for providing adequate facility to converse with the deaf and dumb jail inmates, same shall be considered by the Superintendent/Senior Superintendent of Jail concerned who shall take appropriate decision thereon in accordance with law, with expedition.".The petition was moved by one Ashma Izzat, who challenged a government order which laid out certain conditions for streamlining visits made to prison inmates in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order provided:"(1.) The restraint was set on the number of visitors, limiting it to be two at the most per week.(2.) Maintaining of cautious and social distancing, along with the requirement of face masks, sanitizations and thermal scanning of the visitors was made necessary.(3.) Sanitizing of the inmates before they proceed to their barracks after the meeting with the visitors.(4.) Mandatory requirement of Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT. PC.R) report of last 72 hours.".Counsel for petitioner, Advocate Kumail Haider, stated that condition No.4 curtails not only the right of jail inmates to have access to legal advice, but also infringes the fundamental right, enshrined under Article 19(1)(g), of a lawyer to profess his profession..In this regard, the Court opined that condition No.4 "has been issued taking into account the extraordinary situation prevailing on account of the present pandemic caused by Covid-19. In fact, the said guideline has been issued only in view of the present pandemic. We, thus, do not find any offending provision in the said letter/order dated 13.08.2021 including condition No.4.".Counsel for the petitioner submitted that though lawyers are given the opportunity of audience with jail inmates, provisions contained in the Prisons Act, 1894 with respect to the right of undertrial prisoners to see legal advisers without the presence of any other person, are not being followed.When the Court inquired as to whether the writ petition discloses any such specific instance, counsel for the petitioner replied in the negative.It was, however, pointed out that when the petitioner visited two hearing impaired undertrials presently lodged in Lucknow District Jail, she was not able to converse with them, given that there was no facility of a sign language interpreter at the jail..Accordingly, the plea was dismissed with a direction to the jail authorities to consider providing such facilities if the petitioner approaches them with an application..[Read order]