India News | Decongest Shillong Jail, HC Tells Meghalaya Govt

Shillong, Apr 21 (PTI) The Meghalaya High Court on Thursday directed the state government to come up with a temporary additional facility to ease the congestion of the Shillong District Jail.

Hearing a PIL on the matter, a two-member bench said it appears that measures have been taken by the state to improve the condition in correctional homes.

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However, in the correctional home at Shillong, there appears to be 300 per cent occupancy, it said, asserting that this needs to be addressed immediately.

“The state has to take adequate steps to ensure that an alternative to the present correctional home at Shillong is ready as expeditiously as possible. A temporary additional facility may also be explored,” the court said.

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At present, the Shillong District Jail houses over 464 inmates against its capacity of 175.

Established in 1897, the jail is meant for under-trial prisoners (UTPs) from the East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills and South West Khasi Hills districts.

The next hearing in the matter is on June 6.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)