New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) From Thursday, prisoners in the Tihar Central Jail here, one of India's biggest, will have access to telephones.

Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) told a division bench of the Delhi High Court: 'The phone system will start functioning from tomorrow.'

The system will be available in all the nine jails within the Tihar complex. Prisoners using the telephone will have their fingerprints scanned. Their conversation will be recorded.

But the prisoners cannot call just anyone.

According to the affidavit, each inmate can give a maximum of two telephone numbers of their relatives with whom they wish to be in touch.

The telephone system will be inaugurated by acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Madan B. Lokur.

The move to provide telephones to the prisoners followed a petition based on a letter from former Haryana police officer R.K. Sharma, who is now serving life term for the murder of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar.