CHALASAMI PRASAD Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application by six persons, who have been detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act for directing the respondent 'to withdraw the practice of subjecting petitioners to handcuffs while being taken to Hospitals and grant such other relief or reliefs that the Court may deem fit and proper under the circumstances.'

(2.) The two respondents in the Writ Petition are the State of Andhra Pradesh, represented by the Chief Secretary and the Superintendent of Police, Visakba- patnam. It is alleged in the petition that whenever the petitioners were being taken to the King George Hospital, Vizag for medical treatment as per the advice of the prison Medical Officer, they were being handcuffed with a leading chain, inspite of being taken with a heavyarmed police escort. Instances are not lacking when two detenus were chained together with a single pair of handcuffs, thereby causing inconvenience and hardship. The handcuffs with their leading chains are not being removed even while being actually examined by the Doctors in the Hospital's out-patient-wards. The practice of subjecting the detenus to handcuffs was not there till February but it was introduced all of a sudden in the month of March unwarranted by the prevailing circumstances.

(3.) It is asserted that it is in human and torturous to subject a patient, who is already suffering from some ailment, to handcuffs.