KARACHI, Nov 8: The Sindh government has reported to the Supreme Court its compliance with the Sindh High Court order against detention of juvenile offenders and female prisoners in jails meant for adult males and chaining their inmates with fetters.

A Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Mian Mohammad Ajmal, Sardar Raza Mohammad Khan and Karamat Nazir Bhandari, is seized of a Sindh government appeal against a 1994 SHC judgment declaring clamping of bar fetters and lodging of juvenile and female prisoners with male convicts and undertrial inmates illegal and unconstitutional. The judgment delivered by a division bench, comprising (former) Justice Hyder Ali Pirzada and (late) Justice Nizam Ahmed, held that the prison act and rules allowing the use of bar fetters were violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, which ensured the inviolability of dignity of man.

Reporting compliance with the SHC judgment earlier this week, the Sindh Additional Advocate-General, Qazi Khalid Ali, submitted reports of the provincial home and prisons departments and a report submitted in 1998 by Justice Wahid Bux Brohi, who visited the jails as (the then) SHC registrar. The reports said the appellant government had fully complied with the impugned judgment.

The Supreme Court bench, which had issued notices to the advocates-general of other provinces, however, decided to continue the proceedings to ascertain jail conditions in the rest of the country and pass appropriate orders in the interest of juvenile and female offenders and convicts.

It asked the advocates-general of Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan to submit reports within two weeks and adjourned further proceedings till Dec 4.