SHC makes biometric verification compulsory for new prisoners

The Sindh High Court on Thursday made the biometric verification of all new prisoners compulsory and ordered them to submit their CNICs to the jail authorities.

The prison and government departments were also directed to maintain the criminal records of all the prisoners while in case of negligence contempt proceedings will be initiated, said the court while hearing a petition on “fake prisoners” in Sindh jails.

The Sindh home ministry, prisons IG, and Legal AIG submitted their reports on Thursday.

A report on November 3, revealed that no prison in Sindh has a biometrics system, while seven prisons including Naushahro Feroze and Hyderabad jails, lack proper staff and computer.

The biometrics system is limited to meetings and plans.

Sindh government’s representative Shahryar Mehr said that a biometrics system is being installed at prisons.

“It will help monitor the prisoners,” he said.

The Ansar Burney Trust had filed the petition in 2013.