Plea to review, revise telephone charges collected from prisoners
The Madras High Court has ordered a notice to the state government regarding a petition to review high telephone charges for prisoners. The petitioner argues that current rates are unaffordable and discriminatory compared to market tariffs available to the general public.
Why it matters
It highlights the intersection of prisoner rights, digital access, and the economic burden placed on incarcerated individuals and their families.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered notice to the State on a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to authorities to review and revise the telephone charges collected from prisoners under a G.O. issued in 2023, and prescribe reasonable charges comparable to prevailing market telecom tariffs.
Hearing a petition filed by K.R. Raja of Madurai, a Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel ordered issue of the notice. The petitioner also sought a direction to the authorities to provide free communication facilities to indigent, aged, women, differently abled and other prisoners.
He said as per the 2023 G.O. issued by the Home Department, the government permitted setting up of telephone booths with voice and video-call facilities in prisons with the assistance of public sector undertakings/ organisations.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in