Final pil pucl prisoners

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO. OF 2020
People’s Union for Civil Liberties & Anr ….. Petitioners
V E R S U S
State of Maharashtra & Ors ….. Respondents
INDEX
S. No Particulars Page No.
1. Synopsis 3-4
2 Writ Petition 5-31
3 Vakalatnama 32- 34
4 Exhibit A- Copy of the document detailing
prison population as on March 2020
downloaded from official website.
35-37
5 Exhibit B- Copy of the order dated
23.3.2020 of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of
India.
38-45
6 Exhibit C- Copy of the minutes of High
Power Committee dated 27th March
2020.
46-49
7 Exhibit D (Colly)- Copies of
representations
50- 85

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8 Exhibit E- Copy of new paper item 86-89
9 Exhibit F(colly)- Copy of the new paper
articles
90- 113
10 Exhibit G - Copy of the letter sent by
advocates dated 9.5.2020
114
11 Exhibit H- Copy of the report by WHO. 115- 154
12 Exhibit I- Copy of the letter dated
23.3.2020 by the Superintendent of Central
Jail, Arthur Road.
155
13 Exhibit J- Copy of the notification
amending parole rules dated 8.5.2020
156-157
14 Affidavit in support 158- 160
Last Page

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CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
v e r s u s
State of Maharashtra & Ors Respondents
SYNOPSIS
The present petition is filed in the wake of the reports of prisoners
testing positive of COVID-19 virus in various prisons across
Maharashtra. Since the lockdown, there has been complete lack of
transparency in terms of the conditions of the prisoners and
preparation of the prisons to deal with a calamity like Covid-19,
which has resulted in panic and concern amongst the community,
family members of the prisoners and their lawyers. While few
thousands have been released from prisons over the last one month,
the prisons of Maharashtra is still plagued by overcrowding putting
life of the inmates and the staff at risk.
LIST OF DATES AND EVENTS
Sr.No. Date Event
1. 23.3.2020 In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic,
Hon’ble Supreme Court passed order
for formation of High Power
Committee directing it to take steps for

4
decongestion of the prisons across
India.
27.3.2020 High Power Committee constituted by
the State of Maharashtra passed
guidelines for release of prisoners.
8.5.2020 Initial reports of prisoners and prison
staff testing positive at Mumbai Central
Jail, Arthur Road and Satara District
prison.
10.5.2020 More reports on prisoners testing
positive at Byculla and Arthur road
Jail.
Hence, the Petition.
Relevant Statutes
1. The Constitution of India
2. And any other relevant acts.
Case Laws/Authorities cited
To be cited at the time of argument

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In the matter of Article 14, 21and 226 of
the Constitution of India
And
In the matter of COVID-19 pandemic
outbreak in prisons and need for urgent
health care, hygiene and prisoners’ rights.
1. People’s Union for Civil Liberties
Bhatia Bhavan, 1st floor,
Flat No.29, Babrekar Marg,
Dadar (West), Mumbai 400 028
2. Sandhya Gokhale
Dadar (West), Mumbai 400 028 …. Petitioners
V E R S U S
1. The State of Maharashtra )
Through Principal Secretary of )
the Home Department )

6
Mantralaya, Madam Cama Road )
Mumbai - 400032 )
through Principal Secretary of )
the Law and Judiciary Department )
Mumbai - 400032 )
3. Director General of Police )
Maharashtra Police, )
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Marg, )
Colaba, Mumbai - 400001 )
4. Addl. Directorate of Police & Inspectorate )
of Prisons and Correctional Services, )
2nd Floor, Old Central Building )
Pune - 411001 )
5. Addl. Director General of Police )
(Law & Order) )

7
6. Shri S.N. Pandey, )
Director General of Police (Prisons), )
Maharashtra )
…Respondents
TO,
THE HON’BLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND OTHER
HONOURABLE JUDGES OF THE HIGH COURT OF
JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF
THE PETITIONER ABOVE
NAMED.
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH:
1. PARTICULARS OF THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THE
PETITION IS MADE, :-
The present petition is filed seeking following reliefs:
i. Directions to the Respondent authorities:
a) to provide information regarding the health and COVID
status of the inmates to family members and advocate on
record.

8
b) to ensure that the inmates have ample access to hand triple-
layer/cloth masks, hand sanitizer, soap and cleaning supplies
at no cost.
c) to ensure that health care mechanism should be improved.
Regular stationed doctors, health care workers should be
assigned to the jails. People in prisons and other places of
detention should enjoy the same standards of health care that
are available in the outside community, without
discrimination on the grounds of their legal status.
d) to minimize the impact of restrictions on prisoners and
directing that in absence of face-to-face visits, undertrial and
convicted prisoners should be provided frequent
opportunities to communicate with their family members,
friends and lawyers via phone calls or video conferencing
without any charge irrespective of the nature of the offence or
custody.
e) to provide a minimum monthly sustenance to all the prisoners
for the purchase of food, daily needs, medicines etc or
allowed to make purchases on credit as in the present
situation of lockdown money orders by the families are
difficult to reach.

9
f) to ensure that external inspection of the prisons is conducted
by health and judicial officers on weekly basis.
g) to make arrangements for sufficient supply of water for
drinking and bathing.
h) to provide continuous supply of Bathing Soap and
soaps/hand wash in toilets inside the barracks to encourage
inmates to wash their hands frequently.
i) to provide sufficient sanitizers, masks and gloves to the
prisoners and prison staff and other entering the prisons for
cleaning, cooking etc purposes.
ii. Directions to the Respondent authorities to submit a report:
a) detailing measures taken by them for prevention and control
of COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention.
b) on the precautions and sanitisation procedures put in place
inside the prisons, as well as on preparedness in case of an
outbreak in the prison or any other setting of detention.
c) on procedure put in place for maintenance of hygiene inside
the prisons or any other setting of detention.
d) on protocol being followed for screening of the prisoners and
prison staff and others entering and leaving the prison
premises.

10
e) on the steps taken for testing the existing prisoners.
f) on what procedures followed if any person associated with
prison has tested positive including steps taken to test other
staff and inmates.
g) on arrangement made for the purpose of quarantine.
h) on the availability and supply of medicines and other health
care services for Non-Covid patients.
i) on number of doctors and health workers available in the
prison and quarantine centres.
j) with information regarding the capacity and the present
occupancy of all the prisons, numbers of inmates tested in
each prisons and their respective results.
iii. Directions to the respondent authorities to provide number of
the following vulnerable population in each prison and other
setting of detention and details of the procedure being
followed for their protection in wake of Covid-19:
a) Prisoners and/or detained in other settings above 50 years of
age,
b) All the children in conflict with law who are in
institutionalized confinement,

11
c) Prisoners and/or detained in other settings with pre-existing
health conditions, such as asthama, diabetes, blood pressure,
cancer, TB, etc.
d) Prisoners and/or detained in other settings with disability and
mental illness,
e) Pregnant women and/or with children in prisons and/or
detained in other settings,
f) Women Prisoners and/or detained in other settings
2. PARTICULARS OF THE PETITIONER:
i. The Petitioner No. 1 is Peoples Union of Civil Liberties,
Mumbai, local chapter of People’s Union of Civil Liberties
(PUCL) having their office at Flat No.29, Bhatia Bhavan,
Babrekar Marg, Dadar (West), Mumbai 400 028.
ii. That PUCL is of the largest and the oldest human rights
organization in India. Founded in 1976 by Jayaprakash
Narayan, over the years PUCL has initiated several
legal interventions in human rights and civil liberties issues,
and filed several Public Interest Litigation Petitions in the
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and Hon’ble High Courts
across India for the enforcement of citizen rights and civil
liberties such as right to food, electoral reforms etc.
Therefore, the petitioner has locus standi to file the present

12
writ petition and is thus competent to invoke the
extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court.
iii. Petitioner No. 2 is a computer graduate from IIT Bombay.
She is the Executive Committee Member of the PUCL. Since
last 35 years, she has been active on various human right and
women’s issues.
3. DECLARATION AND UNDERTAKING OF
PETITIONERS:
i. That the entire litigation costs, including the Advocate fees
and other charges are being borne by the Petitioner/s.
ii. That to the best knowledge of the Petitioner/s, the issue
raised has not been dealt with or decided by the Hon’ble
Court and a similar or identical petition has not been/was not
filed earlier by the Petitioners.
iii. That the Petitioner have understood that in the course of
hearing of this Petition the court may require any security to
be furnished towards costs or any other charges and the
Petitioner/s shall have to comply with such requirement.
iv. That there is/was no litigation or case filed or pending against
the Petitioner/s in any civil, criminal, revenue court or any
other court in respect to the issue raised in the petition or in
respect of the property in respect of which the petition is

13
filed.
4. FACTS IN BRIEF CONSTITUTING THE CASE:
i. The Respondents authorities are various agencies of the State
of Maharashtra working in collaboration inter alia for
implementing and enforcing various laws and rules under the
criminal justice system and management of the various
prisons and detention centers.
ii. The present petition has been filed in public interest by the
petitioners to bring to the notice of this Hon'ble Court the
grave and serious violation of the fundamental rights of under
trial prisoners and convicts lodged in Prisons and other
settings of detention across Maharashtra.
iii. The Petitioners states that, Maharashtra prisons, detention
centres, juvenile homes are some of the most overcrowded
prisons/detention centres in the country. COVID-19 spreads
quickly in closed spaces and given the existing overcrowding
and resultant poor conditions in Indian prisons, there was an
imminent fear of the spread of COVID-19 among the
prisoners and the staff in Maharashtra Prison. A copy of the
prison population as on March, 2020 from the website of the
State (in Marathi) is annexed hereto and marked as Exhibit
A.

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iv. The Petitioners submit that the Hon’ble Supreme Court also
took suo moto cognizance of the critical risk of COVID19
infection spreading in overcrowded prisons across the
Country and on 23rd
March 2010, directed the state
government to form a High Powered Committee and
suggested that the committee to determine category of
prisoners to be released depending upon the nature of the
offence charged or convicted for, number of years the convict
has been sentenced for and severity of the offence the
undertrial has been charged with and facing the trial for.
Further the Hon’ble Supreme Court also gave powers to the
committee to decide any other relevant factors as the
committee may consider appropriate. A copy of the order
passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 23rd
March,
2020 in Suo Moto Writ Petition( C ) no. 1 of 2020 is annexed
hereto and marked as Exhibit B.
v. The Petitioners submit that pursuant to the direction of the
Hon’ble Supreme Court, the State of Maharashtra constituted
a High Powered Committee. On 27th
March 2020, an order
was passed by the High Powered Committee to decided that
undertrials who have been arrested/charged for such offences
for which maximum punishment is 7 years or less be
favorably considered for interim release, but excluding

15
people charged under MCOC, PMLA, MPID, NDPS, UAPA
etc, foreign nationals and people from other states. A copy of
the directions of the High Powered Committee is annexed
hereto and marked as Exhibit C.
vi. The Petitioners submit that various representations by
lawyers, non-governmental organizations were made to this
Hon’ble Court, High Powered Committee and relevant
departments of the state suggesting further categories of
release, guidelines for released prisoners, guidelines for
prisoners remaining in the prisons and guidelines for further
arrests amongst other. Copies of the representations are
annexed hereto and marked as Exhibit D(colly).
vii. The Petitioners submit that as per a recent news report, the
state government has reportedly only released around 5500
prisoners despite initially promising to release minimum
11000 prisoners. A copy of the newspaper item is annexed
hereto and marked as Exhibit E.
viii. The Petitioners submit that on 8th
May, it was widely
reported that of the 270 tested, 77 inmates and 26 staff
members of the Mumbai Central Prison, Arthur Road, have
tested positive of Covid-19 infection in Mumbai Central Jail,
Arthur road. In addition to those at Arthur Road, four
positive cases of coronavirus infection were also reported in

16
the Satara district prison. On 10th
May, 2020, news regarding
two persons including doctor testing positive at the prison
hospital in the Byculla district Prison and 81 more prisoners
from Arthur Road Prison testing positive came in the media.
Copies of the newspaper articles are annexed hereto and
marked as at Exhibit F(colly).
ix. The Petitioners submit that since the lockdown, the family
members and advocates have not been able to get any
information about the prisoners inside. Lawyers and family
members have been constantly calling, written mails but
received no response. And since the information of the
positive cases inside has started increasing, family members
and advocates have been trying get information about
prisoners and the preparedness of the prisons to deal with
outbreak but without any success. A copy of the letter sent by
few advocates practicing in Maharashtra dated 9.5.2020 is
annexed hereto and marked as Exhibit G.
x. The Petitioners submit that no information has been provided
to the family members of the prisoners as to whether there
family member has tested positive or not, thus leaving the
families in anxiety and fear.
xi. The Petitioners submit that there is no information publicly
available with regards to the steps taken by the state since the

17
beginning of the pandemic to control the spread of the Covid-
19 inside the prisons.
xii. The Petitioners submit that there is no information publicly
available with regards to facilities created or provided in the
prisons for hand hygiene and environmental sanitation and
disinfection.
xiii. The Petitioners submit that no information is publicly available
with regards to the health care mechanisms adopted by the
prison authorities in the wake of the pandemic.
xiv. The Petitioners submit that as result of the lockdown many
prisoners, who were dependent on the financial assistance
provided by their families for buying essential items like food,
medicines, etc, have been unable to receive any money order.
xv. The Petitioners submit that the lockdown has resulted in no
accountability for the State as there has been no independent
inspection or assessment of the measures taken by them.
xvi. The Petitioners submit that the COVID-19 virus infection is
particularly dangerous for prisoners who are vulnerable as a
result of age, diseases, pregnancy, low immunity,
impoverishment etc.
xvii. GROUNDS

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5. Aggrieved by the acts of omission and commission of the
Respondents, the Petitioner seek to approach this Hon’ble
Court on the following grounds which are without prejudice
to one another:
i. That all the prison in-mates are under the custody of the
State. Their well-being is the responsibility of the State
Government.
ii. That the family members and lawyers of the prison inmates
are completely in the dark about that the well-being of their
loved ones and clients respectively.
iii. That the only source of information about the condition of
the prison is coming from news, creating widespread panic
among the family members of the inmates.
iv. That no family members or lawyers have been informed
whether their family member/client has tested positive or not,
thus creating fear and panic.
v. That it is the right of the family to know about the status of
their family members lodged inside the prison and hence the
authorities should provide information.
vi. That it is the right of the prisoner to access their lawyers.
vii. That the Hon’ble Apex Court has time and again upheld that

19
a prisoners dignity is their right under Article 21, despite
their liberty being curtailed according to the procedure laid
down under the law.
viii. That the inhumane condition even under ordinary situation
inside prison due to over-crowding is a known fact creating a
fertile ground for the further spread of COVID 19 virus in the
prison.
ix. That, the International body on health, the WHO has also
noted how prisons and other similar enclosed places are some
of the places most susceptible to this disease. It published
interim guidance titled “Preparedness, prevention and
control of COVID-19 in prisons and other places of
detention,” In the report, it has observed that an essential
element to be carefully considered in any preparedness plan
for respiratory infectious diseases such as COVID-19 is
availability and supply of essential supplies, including PPE
and products for hand hygiene and environmental sanitation
and disinfection. It is therefore pertinent to assess the need
for PPE and other essential supplies in order to ensure
continuity of provision and immediate availability. A copy of
the report titled “Preparedness, prevention and control of
COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention,” by
WHO is annexed hereto and marked as at Exhibit H.

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x. That health care service within the prisons has been reported
to be inadequate even under ordinary circumstances. Under
the current pandemic it becomes even more pertinent to
provide better health care services to prison inmates.
Cramped accommodation areas, poor hygiene, ventilation
and nutrition as well as insufficient health-care services in
prison will equally undermine infection control measures and
thus signifcantly increase the risk for infection, amplifcation
and spread of COVID-19.
xi. That, in their document, WHO has further stated that , “The
rights of all affected people must be upheld, and all public
health measures must be carried out without discrimination
of any kind. People in prisons and other places of detention
are not only likely to be more vulnerable to infection with
COVID-19, they are also especially vulnerable to human
rights violations.”
xii. That people deprived of their liberty, such as people in
prisons and other places of detention, are more vulnerable to
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. People in
prison live in settings in close proximity and thus may act as
a source of infection, amplification and spread of infectious
diseases within and beyond prisons. Efforts to control
COVID-19 in the community are likely to fail if strong

21
infection prevention and control measures, testing, treatment
and care are not carried out in prisons and other places of
detention as well.
xiii. That prison inmates are dependent on the allowance sent by
their families to meet essential needs like buying grocery,
hygine products, medicines, etc which has been stalled due to
the lockdown. The present lockdown has also led to serious
economic difficulties for family members of many prisoners.
xiv. That since the beginning of the pandemic, several lawyers,
individuals, organisations have been warning the state of an
outbreak in the prisons. As mentioned above, several
representations have been made and yet the State of
Maharashtra completely ignored them and failed to act on the
suggestions to prevent COvid-19 from spreading in the
Prison.
xv. That COVID 19 is highly contagious. It is impossible to
isolate a prison completely despite locking it down. There
will be in and out of prison staff, delivery persons, etc which
can easily spread among the inmates.
xvi. That, given its nature, COVID 19 is more dangerous among
the more vulnerable categories of people for example old
age, people with existing health diseases like blood pressure,

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diabetes, asthma, etc, pregnant women, children,
malnourished, low immunity etc. Those category of prisoners
require special medical care and immediate social distancing
from the rest.
xvii. That, it is the result of an apathetic, dehumanizing and
lackadaisical attitude towards the prisoners, that now atleast
three extremely overcrowded prisons, Mumbai Central Jail,
Byculla District Prison and Satara District prison in
Maharashtra has seen an outbreak.
xviii. That this not only threatens the life of the prisoners and the
prison staff but add further burden to the health care system
of the state which is already struggling to contain the
infection outside the prison.
xix. That given the overcrowding in prisons, it seems difficult to
comprehend how the state authorities are ensuring prevention
and control of the COVID- 19 in prisons and other settings of
detention.
xx. That since the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the
city, the jail authorities have tried to draw the attention of
their unpreparedness to deal with pandemic due to over-
crowding.
xxi. That on 23.03.2020 Superintendent of Mumbai Central

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Prison vide letter no. 1218/2020 drew the attention of Chief
Justice of Bombay High Court towards the proximity of the
prison to Kasturba Hospital which is the main hospital for
treating COVOID 19 and the over-crowding of the prisons
making it susceptible to the outbreak of the pandemic.
xxii. That vide the same letter the Superintendent requested the
Hon’ble Chief Justice to release prisoners accused of mild to
moderate offence on regular bail and those accused of severe
offence on interim bail indicating towards prisons
incapability to deal with such extraordinary circumstances. A
copy of the letter is hereto annexed and marked as Exhibit I.
xxiii. That on 8.5.2020 the State Government has issued a
Notification amending the parole rules so as to provide parole
for convicts in the present extraordinary situation. A copy of
the Amendment is annexed at Exhibit J.
xxiv. That by keeping the in-mates locked up inside the prison
without ensuring their well-being under the pandemic is a
threat to the most cherished fundamental right i.e. Right to
Life.
xxv. That since the lockdown, there has been no external
inspection of the prisons and other places of detention by
independent bodies such as designated prison visitors,

24
doctors, civil society organisations and/or the district judge
and thus there is no information on whether adequate steps
were taken to ensure safety of the prisoners.
xxvi. That till now the government has expected complete blind
trust in their actions in controlling and preventing the
situation but given the present circumstances and threat to
lives of thousands of prisoners who have no other remedy
whatsoever, it is important that each and every measure taken
by the State is made public and examined by this Hon’ble
Court.
6. NATURE AND EXTENT OF INJURY CAUSED
The petitioners says and submit that the combined and
cumulative effect of the above has resulted in violation of
the Fundamental Rights of the prisoners guaranteed to them
under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
Therefore, the petitioner has approached this Hon’ble Court
to assess the conditions and preparation of the prisons to deal
with the present crisis.
7. ANY REPRESENTATION ETC., MADE:-
That fearing an outbreak in the Prisons various
representations by lawyers, non-governmental organizations
were made to this Hon’ble Court, High Powered Committee

25
and relevant departments of the state suggesting further
categories of release, guidelines for released prisoners,
guidelines for prisoners remaining in the prisons and
guidelines for further arrests amongst other.
8. DELAY, IF ANY, IN FILING THE PETITION AND
EXPLANATION THEREFOR:-
The petitioner says and submits that there is no delay in filing
the petition as, the said prisoners are facing continuing
violation of their fundamental rights as alleged in this
petition.
9. DOCUMENTS RELIED UPON: Documents as annexed
above. The Petitioners crave leave to refer to any additional
documents at the time of hearing with the permission of this
Hon’ble Court.
10. The Petitioners crave leave to add/amend/alter/modify/add or
delete any of the foregoing paragraphs or ground with the
permission of this Hon’ble Court.
11. The Petitioners submit that the Petitioner have no other
alternative and/or adequate and/or equal efficacious remedy
other than to file the present petition.

26
12. Respondent no. 1 to 6 have their head offices in Mumbai and
therefore, the cause of action has arisen within the
jurisdiction of this hon’ble court.
13. The Petitioners have not filed any other Petition in respect of
the subject matter in this Hon’ble Court or in any other High
Court or in the Supreme Court of India.
14. The Petitioners have paid the required court fee of Rs.
_______ to this petition.
15. That due to the current lockdown the Petitioners are unable to
affirm the Petition and request that they be permitted to do so
as soon as the situation permits.
16. RELIEF(S) ALONGWITH INTERIM ORDER IF ANY
PRAYED FOR:-
The petitioners, therefore most respectfully pray that this
Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:-
i. Issue writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction
of similar nature directing the Respondent authorities:
a) to provide information regarding the health and
COVID status to the family members and advocate on
record for every inmate.
b) to ensure that the inmates have access to hand
500

27
sanitizer, soap and cleaning supplies at no cost.
c) to ensure that health care mechanism in all prisons
should be improved by assigning regular stationed
doctors, health care workers to the jails and ensuring
that inmates in prisons and other places of detention
should enjoy the same standards of health care that are
available in the outside community, without
discrimination on the grounds of their legal status.
d) to minimize the impact of restrictions on prisoners and
directing that in absence of face-to-face visits,
undertrial and convict prisoners should be provided
frequent opportunities to communicate with their
family members, friends and lawyers via phone calls
or video conferencing without any charge irrespective
of the nature of the offence or custody.
e) to provide a minimum monthly sustenance to all the
prisoners for the purchase of food, daily needs etc
since or allowed to make purchases on credit as in the
present situation of lockdown money orders by the
families are difficult to reach.
f) to ensure that external inspection of the prisons is
conducted by health officers on weekly basis.

28
g) to make arrangements for sufficient supply of water for
drinking, cleaning and bathing for the inmates and
supply of Bathing Soap and soaps/hand wash in toilets
inside the barracks to encourage inmates to wash their
hands frequently.
h) to provide sufficient sanitizers, T-95 masks and gloves
to the prisoners and prison staff and other entering the
prisons for cleaning, cooking etc purposes.
ii. Issue writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction
of similar nature directing the Respondent authorities to
submit a report on:
a) measures taken by them for prevention and control of
COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention.
b) the precautions, hygiene and sanitisation procedures
put in place inside the prisons, as well as on
preparedness in case of an outbreak in the prison or
any other setting of detention
c) protocol being followed for screening of the prisoners
and prison staff and others entering and leaving the
prison premises and steps taken for testing the existing
prisoners.
d) procedures followed if any person associated with

29
prison has tested positive including steps taken to test
other staff and inmates. Further, provide details of the
arrangement made for the purpose of quarantine.
e) the availability and supply of medicines and other
health care services for Non-Covid patients.
f) number of doctors and health workers available in the
prison and quarantine centres.
g) number of inmates in each prison, numbers of inmates
tested in each prisons and their respective results.
iii. Issue writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction
of similar nature directing the respondent authorities to
provide details of the following vulnerable population in
prison in wake of Covid-19 and the procedure and protocols
being followed for their protection:
a) Prisoners and/or detained in other settings above 50
years of age,
b) All the children in conflict with law who are in
institutionalized confinement,
c) Prisoners and/or detained in other settings with pre-
existing health conditions, such as asthama, diabetes,
blood pressure, cancer, TB, etc

30
d) Prisoners and/or detained in other settings with
disability and mental illness,
e) Pregnant women and/or with children in prisons and/or
detained in other settings
f) Women Prisoners and/or detained in other settings,
iv. for ad-interim and interim orders in terms of prayer clause
v. for costs incidental to this petition
vi. for such further and other reliefs and orders as the nature and
circumstances of the case may be require.
ADVOCATE FOR PETITIONERS Petitioner No. 1
Kritika Agarwal/ Isha Khandelwal (Through its member)
Petitioner No. 2
VERIFICATION
I, Sandhya Gokhale, Petitioner No. 2 hereinabove, residing at
Bhatia Bhavan, 1st
Floor, Flat No. 29, Babrekar Marg, Dadar
(West), Mumbai, 400028, do hereby state and solemnly declare that
what is stated in para. No.1 to XX is true to my own knowledge and

31
what is stated in the remaining paras no. XX onwards is stated on
information and belief and I believe the same to be true.
Solemnly affirmed at Mumbai )
on this 11th
day of May, 2020 ) Petitioner No.1
Petitioner No. 2
Identified by me
Advocate for Petitioner

32
In the matter of Article 14, 21and 226 of
the Constitution of India
And
In the matter of COVID-19 pandemic
outbreak in prisons and need for urgent
health care, hygiene and prisoners’ rights.
1. People’s Union for Civil Liberties
Dadar (West), Mumbai 400 028
2. Sandhya Gokhale
Dadar (West), Mumbai 400 028 …. Petitioners
V E R S U S
Through Principal Secretary of )
the Home Department )

33
Mumbai - 400032 )
through Principal Secretary of )
the Law and Judiciary Department )
Mumbai - 400032 )
3. Director General of Police )
Maharashtra Police, )
4. Addl. Directorate of Police & Inspectorate )
of Prisons and Correctional Services, )
2nd Floor, Old Central Building )
Pune - 411001 )
5. Addl. Director General of Police )
(Law & Order) )
6. Shri S.N. Pandey, )
Director General of Police (Prisons), )
Maharashtra )
…Respondents
VAKALATNAMA
To,

34
The Registrar,
Appellate Side,
Bombay High Court,
Mumbai
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, Sandhya Gokhale, Petitioner No. 2 hereinabove and authorised
signatory of Petitioner No. 1 Orgainsation abovenamed do hereby
appoint and authorize MS KRITIKA AGARWAL AND MS. ISHA
KHANDELWAL, Advocate, High Court, Bombay, to act, appear
and plead for me or on my behalf in the above-mentioned matter, or
any Advocate they may authorize to act, appear and plead for me or
on my behalf in the above-mentioned matter.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I set and subscribe my hands to this
writing at Mumbai.
At Mumbai, dated 11th day of May, 2020
Accepted Petitioner No. 1
(Through its member)
Kritika Agarwal/Isha Khandelwal Petitioner No. 2

V E R S U S
State of Maharashtra & Ors Respondents
AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST
LITIGATION
I, Sandhya Gokhale, adult, Petitioner herein and Executive
Committee member of Petitioner No. 1 organization abovenamed
residing at Flat No. Bhatia Bhavan, 1st
Floor, Flat No. 29, Babrekar
Marg, Dadar (West), Mumbai, 400028, do hereby state on solemn
affirmation as under:
1) I say that I have filed the above Petition for the reliefs more
specifically set out in the Public Interest Litigation.
2) I say that there is no personal gain, private motive or oblique
reason on filing this Public Interest Litigation, except for the one
disclosed in the Petition.
3) I repeat, reiterate and adopt each and every statement in the
Petition as if the same were set out herein and form a part of this
158

affidavit. I crave leave to refer and rely upon the Public Interest
Litigation.
4) I undertake to pay costs as ordered by the Court, if it is
ultimately held that, the Petition is frivolous or has been filed for
extraneous considerations or that it lacks bona-fide.
5) I hereby submits that the entire Litigation cost including the
Advocate fee and other charges are being borne by the Petitioners
and my is PAN NO.- ABDPG5314M id is
sandhyagokhale@yahoo.com, and the mobile No. is 9820833422.
6) I hereby state that a thorough research has been conducted in the
matter raised in the Petition, all relevant material in respect of such
research is annexed to the Petition.
7) I say that I have filed the above Petition for the reliefs more
specifically set out in the Petition.
8) I say that if the ad interim reliefs are not granted, grave loss,
harm, injury and prejudice will be caused to the Petitioner and if
granted, no loss, harm, injury and prejudice will be caused to the
Respondents.
9) I undertake that I will disclose the source of his/its information,
leading to the filing of the Public Interest Litigation, if and when
called upon by the Court, to do so.
159

10) I. therefore, pray that the Petition be made absolute with cost
and ad interim reliefs may be granted.
Solemnly affirmed at Mumbai )
Dated this 11th
day of May of 2020 ) Petitioner No. 2
Identified by me
Kritika Agarwal/ Isha Khandelwal Before me
(Advocate for the petitioners)
160

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