Shashikumar Alias Shahi Chikna Vivekanand Jurmani Vs State of Maharashtra (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court of India considered proceedings concerning the non-production of undertrial prisoners before courts and the conduct of certain officials in relation to an earlier order dated 3 February 2026. The Court heard the Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitor General representing the State of Maharashtra and certain officers, namely the Commissioner of Police of the Thane Commissionerate, the Superintendent of Police of Kalyan Jail, and the Additional Senior Jailor (Judicial), who were present before the Court pursuant to the earlier order.
In compliance with the order dated 3 February 2026, the officers had filed affidavits before the Court. However, after interacting with them and reviewing their affidavits, the Court expressed dissatisfaction with both the stand taken and the averments made in the documents. The Court noted that its earlier order had clearly directed that the officers “shall remain physically present with their show cause on the date fixed.” Instead of filing a show-cause as required, the officers had submitted simple affidavits. When questioned by the Court about whether they had misunderstood the order or failed to read it, no satisfactory response was provided. The Court recorded that the failure to file a show-cause reflected extreme casualness in complying with its order and observed that it could have rejected the affidavits and issued notice for contempt for violation of the Court’s directions.
