Chennai, Jan 8 : The Madras High Court has observed that offenses committed by jail officials are far more serious than those by convicts who have been thrown into prison.

A Division Bench comprising Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice Jothiraman made this remark while hearing a petition alleging misappropriation of funds by prison authorities.

The petitioner, Gokila, submitted that her husband, Murugaiyan, a convict in Puzhal Central Prison, had not been paid his wages for four months.

She stated that Murugaiyan works as a school assistant in the prison, earning Rs. 2,850 per month, but his payments were withheld.

She further alleged that many other prisoners were also not paid their due wages, and there was widespread misappropriation of funds by prison officials.

The court expressed alarm at findings from an investigation conducted by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). The investigation revealed that over 36.76 lakh metres of bandages produced by prisoners were not supplied to government hospitals. Instead, these bandages were misappropriated, leading to the swindling of Rs. 4 crore in government funds.

Additionally, the DVAC probe uncovered that Rs. 1.64 crore worth of stationery items had been misappropriated by prison officials.

The Bench noted that such acts of corruption were deeply disturbing, especially as they involved misuse of government resources meant for public welfare.

The High Court directed the state government, the Director General of Prisons, and the DVAC to expedite the investigation.

It instructed them to suspend the officials involved, if necessary, to ensure a fair and unbiased probe.

Furthermore, the court ordered disciplinary action against the erring officials under the Tamil Nadu Civil Services Rules.

The court also directed the authorities to settle any pending wages owed to prisoners for their labour within four weeks.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) J. Ravindran presented a status report to the court, stating that the state had authorised the DVAC to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the allegations.

The AAG informed the court that criminal cases had been registered against three officials for misappropriation of funds and forgery.

He also said that departmental proceedings were also initiated against several officials, including the then Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Prisons, Madurai, for dereliction of duty in supervising subordinates.

The AAG added that searches were conducted at the premises of individuals who supplied raw materials to the prisons.

The Division Bench disposed of the petition after hearing the submissions and directed the state to file a compliance report on the court's orders.

/IANS