The Maharashtra government has constituted a three-member committee to oversee the functioning of Open Correctional Institutions (OCIs), commonly known as open jails.
The move follows a Supreme Court judgment in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1082 of 2020, delivered on February 26 this year. In its ruling, the apex court highlighted prison overcrowding as a systemic issue and recognised OCIs as a humane and cost-effective solution.
To ensure institutional accountability and effective implementation of its directives, the Supreme Court mandated the constitution of a Monitoring Committee in every State and Union Territory. In compliance with these directions, the Maharashtra government has decided to constitute a State-Level Monitoring Committee for the management and expansion of OCIs in the state.
The committee will be headed by Bombay High Court Justice Bharati Dangre. Radhika Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary (Appeals and Security), will serve as a member, while Suhas Warke, Additional Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, will be the member-secretary.
The committee’s terms of reference include ensuring compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions regarding OCIs, overseeing their utilisation, functioning and expansion, and facilitating the timely identification and transfer of eligible prisoners from closed prisons to open institutions.
The committee will also work towards filling vacancies in existing OCIs and establishing new open and semi-open facilities wherever necessary. In addition, it will periodically review progress and address systemic or administrative impediments affecting the implementation of the OCI framework.
The committee’s first status report will be submitted to the Bombay High Court on or before August 21, 2026. Thereafter, status reports will be filed at quarterly intervals. The committee’s consolidated annual report will be forwarded to the Supreme Court by the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court by March 31 each year.
The state government has directed that the committee’s first meeting be convened within four weeks from the date of issuance of the order.