Jharkhand High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Of Alleged Sexual Assault Of Inmate At Birsa Munda Central Jail

The Jharkhand High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of allegations concerning sexual assault of a female inmate at Birsa Munda Central Jail, Hotwar, Ranchi, resulting in pregnancy and alleged attempts to terminate the foetus.

A Division Bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay and Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava was hearing a Public Interest Litigation registered on the basis of newspaper reports as well as a letter addressed by the Leader of Opposition to the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.

The Court noted that the reports alleged that a female inmate of Birsa Munda Central Jail, Hotwar had become pregnant after being sexually assaulted while in custody. The reports further suggested that the perpetrator of the offence and higher officials allegedly attempted to hush up the incident and terminate the foetus. Recording the seriousness of the allegations, the Court observed:

“The issue of such magnitude wherein the custodian of the welfare of the inmates has been alleged to have become the predator needs a proper and detailed response from the State as to what steps have been initiated to verify the truthfulness or otherwise of the allegations so made.”

Accordingly, the Court directed Mr. Mrinal Kanti Roy, learned G.A.-I, to file an affidavit sworn by the Director General of Police detailing the steps taken by the State to verify the allegations.

The Court granted two weeks' time for filing the affidavit and directed that the matter be listed on 08.06.2026.

Case Title: Court on its own motion v. State of Jharkhand.

Case No.: W.P. (PIL) No. 3892 of 2026

Appearance: Mr. Mrinal Kanti Roy, Mr. Shray Mishra and Mr. Deepankar Roy for the State.

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