Despite the work orders for construction being issued on February 2006, the Longleng District Jail is yet to be completed as seen in the images which were taken on August 9, 2021. (Photo Courtesy: NSLSA)
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Kohima, August 10 (MExN): Work orders for construction of the Longleng District Jail was reportedly issued in February 2006, however, it is yet to be completed. Longleng is the only district in Nagaland without a jail till date.
In this connection, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with matters relating to non-construction of infrastructures at Longleng District Jail has been filed in the Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench through the assistance of a Panel Lawyer from the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA).
According to an NSLSA press release, the petitioners in the PIL submitted that since February 2, 2006, numerous work orders were awarded to ‘two private parties’ by the State Government and ‘enormous amount of public money running into crores of rupees’ have withdrawn for such constructions.
However, till date, the said jail construction has not been completed resulting in violation of prisoners’ rights, denial of speedy trial and various inconveniences to the justice delivery system, it contended.
Representation was made to the parties, but the same only yielded empty assurances, it added.
Accordingly, the PIL prayed for “issuance of appropriate order or direction directing the respondents to complete the construction of the District Jail at Longleng for which the work orders were issued in 2006 and also to constitute an enquiry committee under the supervision of this Court for enquiry/investigation into the utilization or mis-utilization of funds sanctioned for construction of the jail.”
As per the NSLSA release, the division bench of the Court comprising of Justice Songkhupchung Serto and Justice S Hukato Swu first heard the matter on August 4 and listed the matter again after 5 (five) weeks.
During the stipulated time period, the respondents including the Nagaland Government authorities have been asked to take cognizance of the notice.
As for the two private parties, who were made respondents to the case, the Court allowed the petitioners to serve the notice through newspaper publications.
“They shall do so by publishing the notice in two local dailies for two consecutive days making the same returnable on or before 08.09.2021,” stated the order from the Court.
As per the NSLSA, Longleng is the only district in the state that does not have a jail till date and as a result, Under Trail Prisoners (UTPs) and convicts from the district are being lodged at Mokokchung District Jail.
It takes around two to three hours to traverse between the two district headquarters, it pointed out.
After the first work was sanctioned on February 2, 2006, more than 20 orders have been sanctioned to the parties so far, the NSLSA added.
