Rajasthan Govt Opposes Plea Against Sanganer Open-Air Jail Land in SC

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Nov. The Rajasthan government on Monday opposed a petition in the Supreme Court, accusing it of misusing land allotted for the Sanganer open-air jail in Jaipur for the construction of a 300-bed hospital. The state labeled the plea as “sponsored litigation.”

A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan directed the court registrar to act as a commissioner and inspect the site. The court will then receive a report on the matter. The petition in question alleged that Rajasthan authorities had willfully disobeyed the Supreme Court’s May 17 order, which prohibited any reduction in the land area of open-air camps or prisons across the country.

Open or semi-open prisons, like the Sanganer camp, allow convicts to work outside the premises during the day and return at night. This model aims to integrate prisoners into society and alleviate the psychological stress of incarceration.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Rajasthan government, clarified that the state had neither reduced the land area of the Sanganer open-air camp nor was there any proposal to do so. He emphasized that the land designated for the hospital was entirely separate from the open-air jail campus, which covers 1.78 hectares as per government records.

Mehta further claimed that the petition was backed by local interests, particularly in the constituency of Rajasthan’s chief minister, where there was opposition to the hospital construction. He suggested the case was “sponsored litigation,” a sentiment the bench briefly explored, though it refrained from delving into further details.

Senior advocate S. Muralidhar, representing the petitioner, argued that while no one objected to the hospital, the open-air prison should remain intact. He emphasized the importance of maintaining both the correctional facility and the hospital.

The Supreme Court bench noted that there needed to be a balance between the need for an open prison and the establishment of a hospital for the local population. The matter was adjourned for further hearing on December 16.

The controversy centers around a broader Supreme Court order from May 17, which addressed the issue of overcrowding in prisons and proposed open jails as a solution to help with rehabilitation while reducing congestion in traditional correctional facilities.