The Jharkhand High Court on Friday (May 22, 2026) took suo motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault of a woman prisoner within the premises of Birsa Munda Central Jail. A division bench comprising Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay and Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava converted the matter into a public interest litigation (PIL) and directed the Director-General of Police (DGP) and the State government to submit a detailed report within two weeks.

The matter will next be heard on June 8.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly Babulal Marandi had written a letter to Chief Minister Hemant Soren raising the issue of alleged sexual exploitation by Jail Superintendent, resulting in the woman becoming pregnant.

“This Public Interest Litigation has been registered based on some newspaper reports as well as a letter addressed by the Leader of Opposition to the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, wherein some disconcerting facts have come to light regarding the sexual exploitation of a female inmate of Birsa Munda Central Jail, Hotwar, by the Jail Superintendent, resulting in her becoming pregnant, with attempts also made to terminate the foetus,” the order said.

The court also expressed concern over alleged attempts to suppress the matter, observing that reports pointed to both the perpetrator and senior officials trying to hush up the incident. It remarked that an issue of such gravity — wherein the custodian of the welfare of inmates stands accused of becoming the perpetrator — warrants a thorough and satisfactory explanation from the State. The Bench sought a detailed clarification on the steps taken to verify the veracity of the allegations.

During the hearing, the State government informed the court that the Home Department has constituted a three-member inquiry committee comprising Director (Administration) Manoj Kumar, Assistant Inspector of Prisons Tushar Ranjan Gupta, and Probation Officer Chandramouli Singh from the Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services to investigate the matter.

The court was also informed that an inquiry team from the District Legal Services Authority (DALSA), Ranchi, had already visited the jail to record the statements of the victim, and a judicial inquiry is underway by Judicial Magistrate Shruti Soren of Ranchi. A separate investigation is also being conducted by Sudharshan Prasad Mandal, Inspector-General of Prisons.

In the letter to Jharkhand Chief Minister on Thursday (May 21, 2026), Mr. Marandi alleged that instead of taking action against the culprits, the entire police machinery was engaged in swiftly covering up the incident and suppressing the evidence.

“For years, jailers have been habituated to grossly exploiting women by abusing authority and rank. This is not an ordinary case; rather, it constitutes an organised institutional crime involving the use of the power of a government office to intimidate, suppress, and ruin the lives of women. The woman was subjected to years of physical and mental abuse,” Mr. Marandi asserted in the letter.