New Delhi, Dec. 7 -- The Supreme Court has passed sweeping directions to all states and union territories to make prisons disabled-friendly and sought a compliance report within four months. The order, passed early this week, sought details of various aspects related to audit of prison infrastructure for disabled prisoners, their educational and health requirements and effective grievance redressal mechanism. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist Satyan Naravoor who cited the instances of wheelchair-bound former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and Parkinson-affected Stan Swamy. While Swamy died in incarceration in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, Saibaba passed away a few months after his acquittal in a case where he was alleged to have links with banned Maoists. Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj who appeared for Naravoor informed the court that presently jails are not equipped to keep disabled prisoners who have diverse needs and require disabled-friendly spaces, ramps for movement, learning and reading aids for pursuing education, among other needs. "No inmate shall be deprived of the opportunity to pursue educational programmes solely on account of disability, and suitable adjustments shall be made to facilitate their effective participation," the bench said. As the judges embarked upon passing directions, they noted that a bench of the top court passed comprehensive directions in July this year in a case from Tamil Nadu that was restricted only to that particular state. The top court order of December 2 extended the directions passed in the July judgment in L. Muruganantham case to all states and union territories. These directions will now require every prison in the country to identify prisoners with disabilities at the time of their admission, and provide wheelchair-friendly spaces, accessible toilets, ramps and dedicated spaces for their therapeutic needs, in addition to a slew of other requirements. The bench issued additional directions by directing all states and union territories to establish a "robust, independent and accessible grievance redressal mechanism" specifically designed for prisoners with disabilities. The court also sought facilities to ensure that prisoners with disabilities have meaningful access to inclusive education within the prison system. The court will take up the matter on April 7....