Ragavi v. The Principal Secretary
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 03.11.2023 CORAM :
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SAKTHIVEL Ragavi ... Petitioner vs.
1. The Principal Secretary, Home (Prison) Department, Fort St.George, Secretariat, Chennai - 600080, Tamil Nadu.
2.The Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Gandhi Irwin Road, C.M.D.A.Tower, Egmore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
3.The Deputy Director General of Prison, Officer of the DIG, Near Central Prison, Madurai Circle, Madurai.
4.The Superintendent of Prison, Central Prison, Puzhal, Chennai.
5.The Superintendent of Prison, Central Prison, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
... Respondents Page No.1 of 8
Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents 2 to 5 to consider the petitioner's representation dated 21.09.2023 in consultation with the state government/the 1st respondent for confirming the temporary transfer as made absolute as permanent of my husband Kannan @ Kithiyon Alexander aged about 43 yars, L.C.T.No.6357 in the Central Prison, Madurai for his remaining period of sentence. For Petitioner : Mr.A.Balaji For Respondents : Mr.A.Thiruvadi Kumar Additional Public Prosecutor
O R D E R
[Order of the Court was made by M.SUNDAR, J.] Considering the narrow compass on which the captioned 'Writ Petition' (hereinafter 'WP' for the sake of brevity, convenience and clarity) now turns owing to the abridged prayer that is being sought in the hearing with the consent of both sides i.e., Mr.Balaji, learned counsel for writ petitioner and Mr.A.Thiruvadi Kumar, learned State Additional Public Prosecutor for all the respondents, main writ petition was taken up.
2. Subject matter pertains to transfer of 'a prison inmate i.e., Mr.Kannan @ Kithiyon Alexander, aged 43 years (LCP No.6357), now Page No.2 of 8
lodged in Central Prison, Madurai' (hereinafter 'said prison inmate' for the sake of convenience and clarity).
3. As alluded to in the opening paragraph, though the prayer for mandamus is expansive, in the hearing Mr.Balaji, learned counsel for writ petitioner, after expressing regret for missing the matter in the previous listing on 30.10.2023 abridged the prayer and submitted that it will suffice if the representation dated 21.09.2023 is disposed of within a reasonable time frame. This submission is recorded and prayer in captioned writ petition is construed accordingly. A scanned reproduction of the representation dated 21.09.2023 as placed before us is as follows: Page No.3 of 8
Page No.4 of 8
4. Learned Prosecutor submitted that the representation has to be disposed of by the second respondent and that a fortnight from today will be a reasonable time frame. More importantly, learned Prosecutor submitted that said prison inmate will not be retransferred to Chennai Puzhal Prison or transferred to any other prison till the service of the proceedings disposing of the aforementioned 21.09.2023 representation of the writ petitioner as well as the said prison inmate and for ten days thereafter if the request in the representation is not acceded to or if it is not wholly in favour of the writ petitioner or the prison inmate and this is to facilitate challenge to the same in a Court of law by prison inmate or anyone concerned for him if so advised and so desired. Page No.5 of 8
5. In the light of the narrative thus far, there shall be a directive to the second respondent to dispose of aforementioned 21.09.2023 representation as expeditiously as his business would permit and in any event within a fortnight from today i.e., by 17.11.2023.
6. Captioned WP is disposed of in the aforesaid manner. There shall be no order as to costs.
(M.S., J.) (R.S.V., J.) 03.11.2023 Index : No Internet : Yes PKN Page No.6 of 8
To
1. The Principal Secretary, Home (Prison) Department, Fort St.George, Secretariat, Chennai - 600080, Tamil Nadu.
2.The Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Gandhi Irwin Road, C.M.D.A.Tower, Egmore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
3.The Deputy Director General of Prison, Officer of the DIG, Near Central Prison, Madurai Circle, Madurai.
4.The Superintendent of Prison, Central Prison, Puzhal, Chennai.
5.The Superintendent of Prison, Central Prison, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
6.The Additional Public Prosecutor, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Madurai.
Page No.7 of 8
M.SUNDAR, J.
and R.SAKTHIVEL, J.
PKN ORDER MADE IN 03.11.2023 Page No.8 of 8