Srinagar: Authorities at the Agra Central Jail have refused to provide details of detainees shifted from Jammu and Kashmir after the Government of India announced abrogation the Article 370 on August 5.
Terming the information sought by an activist under Right to Information (RTI) as “third party” inquiry, the jail authorities have said information sought was confidential and could jeopardize the life and safety of detainees shifted from J&K.
The prison authorities have withheld the particulars — names, addresses, grounds for imprisonment and even the details about whether the inmates had been granted access to legal counsel.
However, the authorities haven’t denied the presence of detainees from Jammu and Kashmir in the RTI reply filed by Venkatesh Nayak, a member of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
“Under the RTI Act, the prison authorities in Uttar Pradesh have refused to provide any details of individuals shifted from J&K to Agra Central Prison around the time when fundamental changes were made to the status of J&K under India’s Constitution,” Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative wrote on its official website.
The Public Information Officer (PIO) has stated that they have been asked “third party” information which cannot be provided as per a 2008 circular issued by the Administrative Reforms Department (AR Dept.) of Uttar Pradesh.
“Ironically, this circular cannot be found on that Dept.’s website or in the compilation of RTI-related Govt. of UP circulars uploaded on the website of the Uttar Pradesh Information Commission (UPIC),” it said.
CHRI also wrote that “Third party” procedure in the RTI Act is enforced only when confidential information is sought.
“Since the inmates are now lodged outside of J&K, jail authorities are required to release information according to the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1973 — which mandates that basic information and grounds for arrest should be made public,” it read.
Nayak had filed the RTI soon after Parliament approved a slew of amendments to the Constitution and the law to divide the State of J&K into two Union Territories (UTs) and read media reports about shifting of many residents of J&K to prisons in Uttar Pradesh (UP) under detention orders.
After reading on such report about more than hundred persons from J&K being detained in four jails of UP, on 26th August 2018, Nayak filed an RTI application with one of the jails, the Agra Central Prison, seeking details about the persons from Jammu and Kashmir detained there.
Nayak had sought detailed information with clear photocopies about grounds of detentions, medical examinations, jail manual governing their treatment, action taken by the prison administration to enable detenues to make representations to the Advisory Board against their detention orders under Section 15 of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 and other relevant details.

Mir Iqbal