Case at a Glance
A batch of public interest petitions on prison conditions in Rajasthan, the oldest pending since 2008, came to a close with a set of time-bound directions. The Rajasthan High Court noted that on 29 June 2026 an undertrial was strangled in a cell of the High Security Jail, Ajmer, whose CCTV camera had been offline for days. It directed the State to notify the Rajasthan Custodian Death Relief Scheme 2025 within three months, install and repair CCTV cameras across jails within three months, frame an SOP for surprise mobile-phone searches, assess guard requirements and set up a permanent monitoring committee.
The lead case began in 2012, when the High Court took suo motu cognizance of press reports of 25 and 26 February 2012 that a history-sheeter had allegedly directed an extortion and firing incident from inside Ajmer Jail. Its scope later widened through letters from prisoners in Kota and Jaipur Central Jails seeking wages for prison labour in line with Phool Kumari v. Superintendent, Central Jail, Tihar, (2012) 08 SC CK 0060, and through petitions by Peoples Watch Rajasthan (2008), on women prisoners (2015), by the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority on custodial deaths (2019), and on human conditions in prisons (2026). Detailed directions had already been issued on 27 January 2016.
While the matters were pending, undertrial Jagan Gurjar was strangled on 29 June 2026 in Cell No. 5 of the High Security Jail, Ajmer. The State’s status report of 28 July 2026 recorded that about 258 of 319 cameras were operational, that the camera in that cell had gone offline on 24 June 2026, and that the Jail Superintendent had sent about 20 communications in 2026 about UPS and server problems; an FIR was registered and a judicial inquiry ordered. The State claimed substantial compliance and said the Rajasthan Custodian Death Relief Scheme 2025 was pending approval. The amici pointed to District Judge inspection reports of 29 October 2025 showing, for instance, no cameras in the women’s reformatory at Ajmer and 16 cameras at Central Jail Bikaner against 275 proposed.
The Key Question Before the Court
Having monitored prison conditions for years, should the High Court keep the petitions pending, or close them with time-bound directions and a permanent mechanism to ensure continued compliance?
From Episodic Compliance to Perpetual Vigilance
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Sameer Jain acknowledged substantial reforms since 2008, including new Prisoners Rules (2022), Parole Rules (2021) and Shortening of Sentences Rules (2026), a food supply arrangement and partial video-conferencing. But the Ajmer killing, it said, showed the need for “perpetual vigilance, adequate technical support, and not merely episodic compliance.” The gap between aggregate camera numbers given by the State and the jail-wise reality recorded by District Judges was a central concern.
The Court held that keeping the dockets pending “serves no further fruitful purpose”, but that closure had to be paired with continuous monitoring. It therefore created a State-level committee and issued specific, time-bound mandates to the departments responsible for technology, security, staffing and the welfare of women prisoners. It also noted that open correctional institutions were functioning in line with Suhas Chakma v. Union of India, (2026) 02 SC CK 1817, and that prisoner wages must continue to conform to Phool Kumari.
What the Court Actually Held
- The State must finalise, approve and formally notify the Rajasthan Custodian Death Relief Scheme 2025 within three months.
- Within three months, DOIT and RISL must install all proposed CCTV cameras (including 275 at Bikaner and 60 at Jaipur), repair defective cameras identified in the 29 October 2025 inspection reports, and make storage and backup systems functional.
- The Prison Department must frame an SOP for periodic, intensive and surprise mobile-phone searches with jail-wise logs; within three months it must assess the requirement of guards and begin time-bound recruitment; sanitary vending machines must work in all women’s prisons, and the policy on meetings between closely related convicts must be finalised within two months.
- A permanent State-level monitoring committee, including District Judges, the DG Prisons, the Member Secretary of RSLSA and the Director of DOIT, will meet quarterly to review compliance; the petitions were disposed of on that basis.
Why This Judgment Matters
- Families of people who die in custody in Rajasthan are to get a notified relief scheme within a fixed time.
- It shows how a non-functional CCTV camera can directly undermine security and accountability inside prisons.
- It replaces open-ended court monitoring with a standing committee, a model other courts may follow in long-pending prison PILs.
What Should Advocates Take Away From the Judgment?
For Prisoners’ Families
- Once notified, the Rajasthan Custodian Death Relief Scheme 2025 will be the route to seek relief after a death in custody; watch for the notification within three months of 26 October 2026.
- Concerns about a particular jail can be taken to the State-level committee, which reviews compliance quarterly.
For Counsel
- In custodial death claims, seek preservation of CCTV footage early; the Court has directed functional storage and backup systems.
- The 27 January 2016 directions and this judgment together form the compliance baseline for Rajasthan prisons.
Key Takeaways
- Custodial death relief scheme: notify within three months.
- CCTV: install proposed cameras and fix defective ones within three months.
- Mobile phones in jails: SOP for surprise searches with institution-wise logs.
- Monitoring: a permanent committee meeting every quarter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Rajasthan Custodian Death Relief Scheme 2025?
It is a scheme for relief in cases of custodial deaths that the State said was pending scrutiny and approval. The High Court ordered it to be finalised, approved and notified within three months of the judgment.
What happened at Ajmer High Security Jail?
According to the State’s status report recorded in the judgment, an undertrial was strangled in Cell No. 5 on 29 June 2026; the camera in that cell had been offline since 24 June 2026. An FIR was registered and a judicial inquiry ordered.
Who will monitor compliance now that the petitions are closed?
A State-level committee headed by the concerned District Judges, with the DG Prisons, the Member Secretary of RSLSA and the Director of DOIT, meeting quarterly.
Conclusion
After nearly two decades of litigation, the Rajasthan High Court has closed the prison-reform docket, but not the oversight. Its directions focus on the practical failures that the Ajmer killing exposed: cameras that do not work, phones that slip in, too few guards and a relief scheme still awaiting approval.
Practical takeaway: Lawyers acting for families in custodial death cases in Rajasthan should track the notification of the Custodian Death Relief Scheme 2025 and seek prompt preservation of jail CCTV records.
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