New Delhi, January 11
The Bihar Government today told the Supreme Court that it had decided to install jammers in Patna’s Beur Jail to prevent use of mobile phones by prisoners.
Senior Counsel B B Singh, appearing for the Bihar Government, submitted before a Bench comprising Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde, Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice P K Balasubramanyan that the state government had already floated tenders for the purpose.
Earlier, expressing concern over the use of mobile phones by Pappu Yadav and others in Beur jail, the apex court had asked cellular service providers to report on the feasibility of instaling jammers in all jails in the country.
The court had, earlier, ordered transfer to itself the proceedings in relation to the suo motu action initiated by Patna High Court on the unhindered use of mobile phone by Yadav in jail.
Reliance and BSNL-while responding to the January 4 request by the court-today told the apex court that it was possible to install jammers in jails.
Besides Parliament, jammers had been installed in Lucknow and Bangalore jails, they said.
On the court then deciding to begin with Beur jail, Mr Singh submitted that there was no need to issue any direction as the state government had already initiated a process to install jammers.
“There are instances where powerful persons have been found using their cell phones from jails,” Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice S B Sinha had said while considering jammers for jails during the resumed hearing of cases related to Yadav on January 4.
On the court mulling shifting of Yadav to another jail, the CBI had suggested Toonamallee, Palaynmkottai, Vellore, Coimbatore (in Tamil Nadu), Mysore (Karnataka) and Sabarmati (Gujarat) jails.
But the Supreme Court today reserved its order on a fresh bail petition by RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, who has been in the news for his various antics inside Patna’s Beur jail since the apex court cancelled his bail in March last year.
The court posted further hearing on the question of jammers and transfer of Pappu Yadav to some jail outside Bihar for January 18.
Pappu Yadav’s counsel R K Jain sought bail by citing yesterday’s order of the apex court in the Shankaracharya’s case, claiming
that there was no evidence against the RJD MP except the confession of co-accused. Yadav had allegedly conspired the murder of CPM MLA Ajit Sarkar.
When asked by the court as how there could be similarities in two situations, Pappu Yadav’s counsel claimed that his client’s case was even at stronger footing than the seer.
Yadav’s counsel had sought hearing on the bail plea of the MP before the apex court took up the plea for his transfer to a jail outside Bihar for violating the jail norms while remaining inside the Beur jail.
A Bench of Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde, Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice P K Balasubramanyan reserved the verdict after Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Amrendra Sharan, appearing for the CBI, opposed the bail stating that the trial in the Ajit Sarkar murder case was at crucial stage and many witnesses were yet to record their statements.
He said the RJD MP had threatened many witnesses not to depose against him and that was the reason why many of them had turned hostile and the apex court had cancelled his bail plea earlier by taking this fact into account.
