Ranchi, Nov 18 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday took up a suo motu PIL with regard to the viral video showing prisoners accused in liquor and GST scams dancing inside Birsa Munda Central Jail, Hotwar, Ranchi.

The state’s Inspector General of Prisons was present during the hearing.

Terming the incident “shameful” and “unfortunate”, the bench headed by Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan directed the state government to appoint a regular jail superintendent within two days.

The court observed that the absence of a permanent superintendent raises serious questions over the governance of state prisons.

The court issued strict instructions to ensure that inmates are not allowed access to mobile phones, chargers or any intoxicants under any circumstances.

The court also ordered surprise inspections by the jail and police authorities at regular intervals to check and wrongdoing.

Questioning how inmates facing serious charges were able to host such activities in a high-security zone, the bench noted that the video clearly indicated the use of mobile phones inside the jail.

During the last hearing on November 14, the court had already raised concerns over the prison system and summoned the IG Prisons, besides directing the production of the jail’s CCTV DVR.

The state government’s counsel informed the court that, following the incident, Jailer Devnath Ram and an official, Vinod Yadav, had been suspended.

The government said a preliminary inquiry found that the dance event took place in a special hall on the jail premises.

The inmates seen in the video — Vidhu Gupta and Siddharth Singhania — are accused of liquor and GST scam cases.

At the time of the incident, they were lodged in the prison but have since been released.

The court remarked that such incidents point to a grave failure of prison administration and “cannot be tolerated under any circumstances”.

The matter will next be heard on January 5.

–IANS

snc/skp/dpb