The Delhi High Court has asked the city government to fill up the vacant posts of teachers, counsellors as well as medical and paramedical staff in the jails in the national capital within six months.
The court disposed of a public interest litigation matter filed by lawyer Amit Sahni to fill up the vacancies while noting that the authorities have initiated the process and would certainly conclude it within the six-month period.
The court noted that according to a status report filed by the Delhi government, 48 teachers and 23 technical teachers have been deputed by the Department of Education for training and imparting technical education to the prison inmates and applications have been invited for 40 posts of counsellors.
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For medical and paramedical staff as well, steps have been taken to fill up the posts, it added.
"The State is directed to ensure that the appointments (of teachers and counsellors) are made positively within a period of six months from today.
"The learned counsel appearing for the GNCTD was fair enough in stating before this court that a breathing period of six months be granted to the State to conclude the process of recruitment. The prayer is allowed," said a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra and Justice Subramonium Prasad in a recent order.
"This court is of the opinion that as the respondents have already taken steps to depute persons on the post of teachers and for appointment of counsellors, and they are certainly going to conclude the process of recruitment within a period of six months from today, no further orders are required to be passed in the present PIL," it said.
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In view of the status report, the counsel for the petitioner also said once time has been granted by the court to the Delhi government to fill up the backlogs within six months, no further orders were required.
The petitioner had claimed in the plea that the jails in Delhi are facing a staff shortage of more than 20 per cent and urged the court to issue directions to the authorities to fill the vacancies of medical officers, welfare officers, counsellors, teachers and vocational counsellors.
On April 20, the high court had asked the Delhi government to initiate the process of recruitment to fill the vacancies in jails.
-With PTI Input
