Patna HC seeks time frame for jail building in Arwal

PATNA: The Patna high court on Friday sought reply from state chief secretary over minimum time required to construct a jail in Arwal district as it didn’t have any after it was carved out of Jehanabad almost two decades ago.
A bench of Justice Jyoti Saran and Justice Anjani Kumar Sharan was hearing a PIL filed by one Binod Kumar, who has urged the court to direct the authorities concerned for constructing a building for district court and prison and sanction posts in lower judiciary and prison respectively for Arwal district.
Even now, the district and sessions judge and additional district and sessions judges of Jehanabad deal with the cases of Arwal district.
The court rapped the state government for not being bothered to expedite the construction of a prison even after almost two decades of its formation in the district.
“We direct the chief secretary to intimate us the minimum possible time to construct jail in Arwal district,” the bench ordered and fixed May 8 as the next date of hearing.
The bench observed that even if courts start functioning in Arwal district, undertrials would be required to be transported for around 35km from Jehanabad for production in absence of jail there.
During the last hearing on February 18, the court was apprised through a state government’s counter affidavit that 5 acre land was acquired for prison and the land measurement was going on. The court was also apprised that construction work of district court building and judges’ quarters was going on in Arwal and it was likely to be completed by October this year.
The court on February 6 had observed that a counter affidavit of the state government as well as the high court simply referred to creation of posts and construction of building, but a jail in the district was nowhere given consideration in either of the affidavits.