The Supreme Court on Friday took cognizance of the issue of some women prisoners lodged in West Bengal’s correctional homes getting pregnant. This comes after the Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered the transfer to a criminal division bench of a matter in which the amicus curiae claimed that some women prisoners in Bengal’s correctional homes were getting pregnant and 196 babies were staying at various such facilities.
Agreeing to examine the matter, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Ahsanuddin Amanullah asked senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal to look into the issue and submit a report.
Agrawal has been assisting the SC as amicus curiae in a matter related to overcrowding in jails.
Lawyer Tapas Kumar Bhanja, who was appointed amicus curiae in a 2018 suo motu motion on overcrowding in prisons, had submitted a note containing these issues and suggestions before the division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam.
The submission mentions that the amicus curiae and his assistants visited the Women Correctional Home of Alipore, Calcutta, along with the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Alipore, South 24-Parganas, in presence of Ajay Kumar Thakur, Special Inspector General of Police (Correctional Services), West Bengal on January 22.
