Times of India: Panaji: Thursday, December 21, 2017.
In the
interest of jail inmates, the Goa State Information Commission (GSIC) has
requested the chief secretary to consider implementing the model prison manual,
which provides for training of jail officers for bringing about reforms in
prison administration in the state. The observation was made while disposing of
an RTI appeal of a prisoner.
"The
Model Prison Manual speaks about criteria of educational qualification and
training of the jail officer, and stated that the person holding such a post
should possess 12 months compulsory training programme as jail officer from the
training college, and further, such officer should have completed
post-graduation in Prison Reforms Law and Criminology and Sociology," the
order states.
State
information commissioner Juino De Souza, in his order passed recently,
requested the chief secretary to look into the matter in the interest of all
inmates lodged in jails across the state.
Suhas
Purushottam Joshi filed an RTI application in 2012 seeking details of the educational
qualifications of the then superintendent of the jail from the under-secretary
of the personnel department, who was the public information officer. When he
was not satisfied with the information provided, he went in appeal to the chief
secretary. In the RTI data, it was revealed that the educational qualifications
of the then jail officer were not as per the manual's specifications.
Joshi, in his
appeal memo, also submitted that the high court of Bombay at Goa had ordered a
five-member committee to be constituted to inquire into the factual position of
prison administration in the state. The committee filed a report on December
14, 2004.
Suhas
Purushottam Joshi filed an RTI application in 2012 seeking details of the
educational qualifications of the then jail superintendent. When he was not
satisfied with the data provided, he went in appeal to the chief secretary.
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