Overcrowded, Understaffed Jails Pose Security Threat in Himachal: High Court Steps In
SHIMLA, August 24:
Overcrowded and understaffed jails in Himachal Pradesh are posing a growing security threat, with the High Court now stepping in after serving Warders and Head Warders placed the Government’s own records and RTI disclosures before the Court to expose the extent of the crisis.
In a sharp twist, the Sukhu government appears to be promoting “freedom” in its prisons—not by policy, but by pushing overworked jail staff towards exhaustion through long duty hours and repeated night shifts.
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel has issued notice to the State Government on the petition, giving it three weeks to respond. The matter will come up on September 18, when the Court will also consider the plea for interim relief.
The petitioners, represented by Advocate Deven Khanna, have relied heavily on official departmental correspondence and certified RTI replies, making the Government’s own records the basis of their challenge over what they describe as “avyavastha” in the State’s prison system.
At Dharamshala, official records cited before the Court show 503 inmates against a sanctioned capacity of 355, while only 56 Warder posts are sanctioned against a much higher requirement assessed by the prison authorities.
The same records show Warders working 10-hour days and 20–22 night duties a month, despite the Prison Manual prescribing an eight-hour duty day and four nights’ rest every week.
State-wide, the figures are equally stark: 3,193 inmates against a sanctioned capacity of 2,580, while only 408 of 479 sanctioned Warder posts are filled.
The petitioners argue that the issue is no longer merely one of employee workload. An exhausted guard cannot be expected to remain fully alert against escapes, violence, contraband and other prison-security threats.
The High Court’s intervention has therefore brought the Government’s prison-management system under scrutiny, with the September 18 hearing likely to put its staffing policy, duty rosters and emergency preparedness under the judicial lens.
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