Kerala High Court Stays Central Prison's Restriction That Jail Inmates Can Call Only BSNL Numbers

A Writ Petition has been filed in the Kerala High Court challenging a recent notice issued by the Superintendent of Viyyur Central Prison and Correctional Home which says that the 3 phone numbers which a prison inmate has registered for external contact should be BSNL numbers. A prison inmate is allowed to have external contact by phone with 3 registered numbers. By this notice, a restriction has been imposed which says that these numbers must be BSNL numbers. An additional restriction is also placed which says that the owners of those phone numbers should turn off call forwarding and call transferring facilities. The notice says that this restriction has been mandated based on a letter issued from the Jail Head Office.Justice C. S. Dias on Friday (28th February) stayed the condition that the registered phone number should be BSNL number for a period of 10 days."On a consideration of the facts and the materials on record, and on prima facie finding that the condition in Ext.P1 order that the owners of the registered phone numbers/receivers of the call should have a BSNL connection, I am satisfied that the petitioner is entitled to an ad-interim order.Hence, I stay the condition in Ext.P1 notice, to the extent that the receiver of a phone call should have a BSNL connection, for ten days," the order stated.The petitioner who is the father of an inmate in the Viyyur Central Prison and Correctional Home argued that the notification infringes the fundamental right of communication of an inmate which is essential for his rehabilitation and access to justice.“The restrictions significantly hinder inmates' ability to maintain contact with their families and legal representatives, effectively limiting their access to emotional support and legal counsel. Such measures place undue burden on both inmates and their loved ones, obstructing a fundamental right to communication that is essential for rehabilitation and access to justice.”, the petition says.It was submitted that imposing unnecessary restrictions on phone calls severely impacts the mental and emotional health of a prisoner which is a violation of the right to dignity under Article 21.The petitioner argued that the notification provides no reason as to why they have restricted calls to just BSNL numbers if the objective is to restrain call-forwarding or call-conferencing. The petitioner submitted that there is no intelligible differentia or a rational nexus to the objective to be achieved.It was also submitted that many prisoners come from economically weaker backgrounds and asking family members to change their telecom provider or buy new SIM is an additional financial burden on them. The petitioner further submitted that this restriction can also affect a prisoner's ability to communicate with their legal representative affecting their right to have proper legal assistance.It was further submitted that BSNL has significant limitation in terms of network coverage, service reliability and technological advancements.In the matter of disabling call-conference or call-forwarding, it was argued that asking the owners of the registered numbers to disable these features disregard their personal and professional obligations as these features are used for convenience, accessibility and professional reasons.The State has sought time to file a counter affidavit/ statement. The case is next posted on 7th March.Reportedly, the restriction was imposed after certain inmates were found to have misused the call-forwarding facilities and made conference calls with unauthorised persons.The petition is filed by Advocates Mitha Sudhindran, Riji Rajendtan, Ayana Unnikrishnan, Anjana K., Soorya M. Case Title: Anas Ahmed v State of Kerala and OthersCase No: WP(C) 7918 of 2025Click Here To Read/ Download Order

Kerala High Court Stays Central Prison's Restriction That Jail Inmates Can Call Only BSNL Numbers

Manju Elsa Isac

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