The High Court today directed the government to immediately appoint doctors to 117 vacant posts in prisons across the country.

The court also ordered the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to submit a report before it within a month, after complying with the directive.

A HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader came up with the order during a writ petition hearing filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md JR Khan Robin on February 19 last year, seeking necessary order for the recruitment of physicians to the vacant posts.

During the hearing today, Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar submitted two reports of DG health and inspector general (IG) of prisons before the HC bench, showing that there are 117 posts of doctors vacant in 68 prisons across the country.

On November 5 last year, the office of IG of prisons submitted a report to the HC, saying that there are only 10 physicians to provide treatment to around 87,000 prisoners across the country.