HC seeks report from govt on unnatural deaths in prisons

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the state government to file a statement with regard to unnatural deaths of prisoners in the state prisons between 2012 and October 30, 2017.

The court has taken up a suo motu case following the Supreme Court direction to chief justices of all high courts over custodial deaths in prisons across the country.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice H G Ramesh and Justice P S Dinesh Kumar asked the state government to undertake a detailed study to find out the number of unnatural deaths of prisoners and the names of the deceased prisoners. The court has directed the government to  place the report on record before the court.

The bench stated that a discussion on the compensation part will be carried out thereafter.

The bench adjourned the matter to January 10, 2018.