KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday made biometric verification of all new prisoners mandatory in the province. A division bench of the SHC, while hearing a petition pertaining to "fake prisoners" in the jails of the province, directed the authorities that prisoners would have to submit their CNICs to the jail authorities.

The court ruled that prison and government departments would have to maintain criminal records of all the prisoners and declared that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against the relevant authorities if the orders of the court were not complied with.

During the hearing of the case, the Sindh Home Department, the Inspector-General of Prisons and the Additional IG submitted their reports in the court. Sindh government's attorney told the court that a biometric system was being put in place in the prisons of the province that would help to monitor the prisoners. He said that prisoners used to connive with the jail officials to put fake prisoners in their place for years and assured the court that it would not happen anymore.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020