Jail Superintendent, District Jail Kotli and another vs Muhammad Riaz
This appeal was filed by the Jail Superintendent against the judgment of the High Court dated 27.01.2022, whereby an application filed by the convict-respondent for shifting him from District Jail Kotli to District Jail Sudhnoti was accepted. The core legal question before the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir was whether a convict has the right to choose the place of imprisonment or if the prison authorities retain the discretion to determine confinement based on security and administrative factors. The Supreme Court held that convicts cannot dictate or choose their preferred jail, and prison authorities are justified in transferring or keeping inmates based on safety measures, capacity, and security conditions. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment, establishing the principle that administrative discretion regarding the housing of prisoners based on security and overcrowding must be respected and should not be interfered with without valid justification.
- Can a convict legally claim the choice of being confined to a jail of their own preference?
- Whether the prison authorities have the discretion to determine the shifting of convicts based on security measures and jail capacity?
- Is the High Court justified in ordering the transfer of a convict to an overcrowded jail against the assessment of prison authorities?
RAJA SAEED AKRAM KHAN, C.J. The convict-respondent, herein, filed an application before the High Court for shifting him from District Jail Kotli to District Jail Sudhnoti. The learned High Court through the impugned judgment dated 27.01.2022, accepted the application and issued the direction for shifting of the convict-respondent to District Jail Sudhnoti.
2. Despite repeated notice no one appeared on behalf of the respondent, hence, we constrained to decide the appeal after hearing the earned Advocate-General and perusing the available record.
3. The learned Advocate-General submitted that the prevailing situation of District Jail Sudhnoti is not up to mark. The said Jail is already overcrowded and in view of the security measures the authorities shifted the convict to the District Jail Kotli as the same is in better condition than the District Jail Sudhnoti, but the learned High Court overlooked this aspect of the case. He prayed for acceptance of appeal.
4. We have heard the arguments and examined the record made available. In our view it cannot be left on the choice of the convicts to choose any sail rather the concerned authorities may take any decision in this regard while taking into account the safety measures and other relevant factors. In the instant case, the version of the learned Advocate-General is that in view of the security measures as well as the strength of the convicts, District Jail Kotli is better than District Jail Sudhnoti hence, there is no reason to compel the concerned authorities to shift the convict in an overcrowded jail where the security situation is also not up to mark as stated by the learned Advocate-General.