Ranchi, Jun 25 The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday set a deadline of six months for the state’s Public Service Commission and the Staff Selection Commission to fill up vacant posts in jails.
A division bench of Chief Justice M S Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar, while hearing a public interest litigation initiated suo motu, directed the government to ensure filling up of all vacancies in jails across Jharkhand.
The state has 31 correctional facilities including central jails, district jails and sub-jails.
The bench directed the home secretary and the secretaries of both the commissions to furnish a status report of compliance of the order to fill up the vacancies within the deadline.
The Jharkhand government informed the court that the process for filling up vacancies in jails is underway.
The Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission has already issued advertisement for appointment of assistant jailers, jail warders, medical nursing staff, and other posts in jails.
The court was informed that 81 per cent of different posts in jails were vacant in the state.
The case will be heard again on October 8.
The PIL was initiated on directions of the Supreme Court, which had issued instructions to all the high courts in the country to monitor the condition of inmates in jails in states.
The Jharkhand High Court initiated the PIL in 2015, and has been monitoring the condition of inmates in jails in the state.
