The Madras High Court has issued a directive for a thorough investigation into the engagement of uniformed personnel for domestic chores by prison authorities across Tamil Nadu. This significant order was handed down by a division bench consisting of Justices S M Subramaniam and M Jothiraman, in response to a petition filed by one Sujatha, who raised concerns over the misuse of uniformed staff for personal tasks at the residences of prison officials.
The court has tasked the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary to the Government’s Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, with overseeing the probe, which may involve the CBCID wing of the police or inputs from the Intelligence Wing. The inquiry aims to identify and withdraw all uniformed personnel misappropriated for residential work and redeploy them to their rightful duties within the prison system, in accordance with existing prison rules and government orders.
The bench highlighted a stark discrepancy at the Central Prison-II, Puzhal in Chennai, where, despite having 203 sanctioned warder posts, only 15 warders per shift are assigned for public duties, significantly lower than the required 60 warders per shift. It pointed out that a large number of warders are instead occupied with household tasks at the homes of jail authorities.
The justices emphasized that such practices not only constitute a dereliction of duty and lapses in prison administration but also represent a colonial-era abuse of power that should not be tolerated. They remarked that prison authorities, as public servants, are expected to serve the public good and not engage in practices that are unconstitutional and potentially criminal.
Furthermore, the court expressed its concern that despite previous instructions and orders, the wrongful deployment of uniformed personnel in the residences of senior police and prison authorities has not been fully eradicated. It called for stringent actions by the government to ensure that public servants are utilized solely for the welfare of the public and not for the personal or residential services of officials.
