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Chippy P who is pursuing her 4th year BA LLB at Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram
In consideration of the impact on children of visiting their family in prison, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in 2016 by K.R. Raja of Palayamkottai. According to his view, the present state of the prison interview hall, which is gloomy, wire-mesh, and agonising in structure, will be a mental scar for the prison visiting children to meet their parents. This was the first PIL filed in 2016 to construct child-friendly interview halls, and it has positively resulted in 2024.
The court, after hearing the PIL petition filed in 2016 by K.R. Raja of Palayamkottai, who sought a direction from the government to set up child-friendly interview halls in prisons, has sought a feasibility report from the state.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Vijay Kumar Gangapurwala and Justice G. Ilangovan observed that the court hoped that steps regarding administrative sanction would be completed within six months.The state recently told the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court that steps were taken to set up child-friendly interview halls in all central prisons and special prisons for women in Tamil Nadu.
In a complaint, Home Secretary P. Amudah said that an estimate of Rs. 1.50 crore has been submitted by the Chief Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNPHC) for the construction of child-friendly interview halls in nine central prisons and five special prisons for women. The TNPHC was in the midst of preparing a detailed estimation and a proposal seeking sanction from the administrative, and the financial would be received shortly. The sanction would be accorded by the government once submitted and considered.According to the petitioner, Raja, the prisons were constructed without considering the impact they had on the young visitors. The child-friendly interview hall will make it a reinforcement approach for the reformation and rehabilitation of an imprisoned individual.
Moreover, the reoffending rate in India will also reduce, as it will pave the way for the smooth reintegration of a person upon his release from prison.
