The Kerala High Court has temporarily stayed a controversial restriction imposed by the Superintendent of Viyyur Central Prison and Correctional Home. The notice, which mandated that prison inmates could only register and call BSNL numbers, has been challenged as an infringement on fundamental rights. The court has provided interim relief by suspending this rule for ten days.

Background of the Case

A Writ Petition was filed by Anas Ahammed, a resident of Aluva, whose son is an inmate at the Viyyur Central Prison. The petition contested the legality of a recent directive that required all three registered contact numbers of inmates to be BSNL connections. Additionally, the directive demanded that the owners of these phone numbers disable call forwarding and call transferring services. The notice was reportedly issued based on instructions from the Jail Head Office.

Justice C.S. Dias, presiding over the case, found merit in the petition and issued an interim stay on the restriction.

Court's Observations and Interim Order

While considering the case, the court noted that the restriction imposed in Exhibit P1 requiring inmates to call only BSNL numbers lacked clear justification. The Hon'ble Justice remarked:

"On a consideration of the facts and the materials on record, and on prima facie finding that the condition in Ext.P1 order that the owners of the registered phone numbers/receivers of the call should have a BSNL connection, I am satisfied that the petitioner is entitled to an ad-interim order."

Accordingly, the court temporarily stayed the enforcement of this restriction for a period of ten days. The next hearing on the case is scheduled for March 7, 2025, and the State has been directed to file a counter affidavit before that date.

The petition is filed by Advocates Mitha Sudhindran, Riji Rajendtan, Ayana Unnikrishnan, Anjana K., Soorya M.

Case Title: Anas Ahmed v State of Kerala and Others

Case No: WP(C) 7918 of 2025