HC notice to Haryana govt on Honeypreet's plea for calling facility inside Ambala jail

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday issued notice to the Ambala jail superintendent on a plea filed by controversial godman and Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s socially adopted daughter, Honeypreet seeking directions to provide calling facility inside the jail premises.
Honeypreet alias Priyanka Taneja is presently lodged in Ambala jail since October 3, 2017 in connection with to her role in the Panchkula violence and related cases.She has approached the HC against the October 29 orders through which her application for providing her prison in-mate calling system facility was declined.
According to Honeypreet, in view of various jail reforms, prison inmate calling system (PICS) facility was introduced in jails throughout the country and the same was also introduced in Haryana. As per the system, every prisoner lodged in the prison is allowed to hold telephonic conversation with his family members, friends, and relatives for five minutes every day through the said system.
Honeypreet’s counsel, Jasdev Singh Mehndiratta argued that the director general of prisons, Haryana had also issued directions for providing the PICS facility after verification of phone numbers provided by the prisoners. The phone numbers provided by the prisoners are verified and thereafter this facility is provided for making calls only on the verified numbers. The records of the said calls are also stored by the authorities.
According to Mehndiratta, the petitioner made a request for being provided with the PICS facility. The phone numbers provided by her were sent for verification. However, the superintendent of police (SP), Sirsa sent a report on January 25, 2018 stating that the said facility be not provided to her as a number of cases relating to violence, which had erupted after conviction of the Dera chief are pending in Sirsa district. It was also stated that a large number of people are yet to be arrested and providing PICS facility to the petitioner may endanger peace, counsel told the HC.
After hearing her contentions, the HC has asked the Haryana government as well as the superintendent of Ambala jail to file reply on December 11 on the issue.