The Rajasthan High Court has directed the State Government to finalise, approve and formally notify the Rajasthan Custodian Death Relief Scheme, 2025, within three months, while issuing a series of directions to improve prison conditions across the State.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Sameer Jain issued the directions while disposing of a batch of PILs concerning the rights, welfare and dignity of prisoners, as well as infrastructure, security and living conditions in Rajasthan's jails.

The Court also constituted a permanent State-Level Monitoring Committee, headed by the District Judge of the respective district, to monitor prison conditions, facilitate the implementation of judicial directions and ensure compliance.

The Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the PILs over the period from 2012 to 2026, initially based on newspaper reports highlighting security lapses in prisons. Over the years, the proceedings were expanded to include representations from several inmates concerning prison conditions and their rights.

The latest directions followed the Court's examination of status reports filed by the State, including details of the death of an undertrial prisoner, Jagan Gurjar, at the High Security Jail in Ajmer on June 29, 2026. The State's report indicated that the CCTV camera covering the cell where the incident occurred had been non-functional due to a technical fault.

Observing that the reforms undertaken over the years required continued monitoring, the Court stated:

“...the extensive exercise undertaken by this Court since 2008 has yielded substantial institutional reforms, the enactment of updated Prison Rules, and widespread infrastructural upgrades. However, as the unfortunate incident of 29.06.2026 at Ajmer demonstrates, the implementation of these directions requires perpetual vigilance, adequate technical support, and not merely episodic compliance.”

Other Directions

The Court issued a mandamus to the Director, Department of Information Technology (DOIT), Rajasthan, and RAJCOMP Info Services Ltd. (RISL) to take immediate action on pending maintenance requests concerning CCTV cameras in jails.

It granted three months to ensure the installation of all proposed CCTV cameras, including 275 cameras at Bikaner Jail and 60 at Jaipur Jail, repair defective cameras and ensure that adequate storage and backup systems were functional.

The Prison Department was directed to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) for periodic, intensive and surprise searches for mobile phones across all jails, with institution-wise records of recoveries.

The State Government was also directed to assess the requirement of Challani Guards in view of the current prison population and initiate time-bound recruitment within three months. It was further directed to ensure that wages paid to prisoners complied with the Supreme Court's directions.

Additionally, the State was directed to ensure the functional availability of sanitary napkin vending machines across all women's prisons. The policy permitting periodic meetings between closely related convicts, such as spouses or parents and children, must be finalised within two months.

The Court directed the State-Level Monitoring Committee to meet quarterly to review compliance with the directions issued in the present judgment and earlier orders.