No.17014/3/2009-PR
Government of India/Bharat Sarkar
Ministry of Home Affairs/Grih Mantralaya
North Block, New Delhi dated the 17
th
of July 2009.
To
The Principal Secretary (Prison) / Secretary (Home) (In-charge of
Prisons) - All State Governments / UTs
DGs/ IGs incharge of prisons- All State Governments / UTs.
Subject: Prison Administration- regarding
Sir,
As you are aware ‘Prisons’ is a State subject under Entry-4 (Prison
Reformatories, Borstal Institutions and other institutions of like nature) in the State
List (List-II) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Therefore, the
management and administration of Prisons falls in the domain of the State
Governments. The Prisons are governed by, interalia, The Prisons Act, 1894 and
the Prison Manuals/ Rules/ Regulations framed by the respective State
Governments from time to time.
2. The Indian prison system has been under the close scrutiny of judiciary /
District Magistrates who have been given a responsibility to closely monitor the
administration and management of prisons under their jurisdiction and to inspect the
same periodically. The Central Government has, from time to time, been interacting
with the State Governments through advisories, conferences and meetings etc on
various aspects of prison administration including appropriate security measures in
prisons.
3. As you are aware, various Committees, Commissions and Working Groups
had been constituted in the past by the Government of India to study and make
suggestions for improving the prison conditions and administration, inter alia, with a
view to making them more conducive to the reformation and rehabilitation of
prisoners. Some of the important committees are as under:
¾ All India Jail Manual Committee (1957),
¾ Working Group on Prisons (1972),
¾ All India Prison Reforms Committee (1980-83) known as Mulla
Committee,
¾ All India Group on Prison Administration, Security and Discipline known
as R.K. Kapoor Committee (1986) and
¾ National Expert Committee on Women Prisoners known as Justice
Krishna Iyer Committee (1987) etc.
These committees made a number of recommendations to improve the conditions of
prisons, prisoners and prison personnel. Some of the important recommendations
are annexed as Annexure-I. Since most of the recommendations of these
committees pertained to the State Governments/UT Administrations, these were
forwarded to the State Governments by the Ministry of Home Affairs for taking
appropriate action. In 2001, the Ministry of Home Affairs through BPR&D also
circulated a detailed questionnaire relating to actionable recommendations of these
committees.
Model Prison Manual
4. Keeping in view the directions given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the
case of Ramamurthy vs State of Karnataka (1996) and also taking into account the
recommendations of various committees regarding the need for bringing uniformity in
laws relating to prisons, Government of India constituted All India Model Prison
Manual Committee headed by Director General of BPR&D to prepare a Model Prison
Manual for the Superintendence and Management of Prisons in India. The “Model
Prison Manual” so prepared was circulated to all the State Governments/ UT
Administrations in December 2003 for adoption for effective and efficient
superintendence and management of prisons. This manual is an exhaustive
document and has been prepared after wide consultations with the State
Governments. It is, however, learnt that only a few States have so far adopted the
model prison manual in its true spirit. The Parliamentary sub-committee on
modernization of prisons has recently visited many states and has shown their
disappointment on the poor adoption of the Model Prison Manual by the State
Governments. They have asked the Government of India to take initiative for
ensuring that the State Governments adopt the Model Prison Manual. You are
accordingly once again advised to go through the Model Prison Manual and consider
its adoption as per the requirements and suitability to the State.
Court Judgments
5. From time to time various High Courts and Supreme Court have given wide
ranging judgments on conditions of prisoners, prisons and the rights of prisoners.
Some of these path-breaking judgments/ rulings are important for the rank and file of
prison officials/ State Governments. A compilation of such judgments was brought
out by the BPR&D in 2000 in which an attempt was made to identify and document
some latest rulings/ judgments of the Supreme Court/ High Courts relating to the
area of prison administration. The same was thereafter revised and updated in 2007.
This compilation is also available at the BPR&D website (www.bprd.gov.in). The
same was also circulated to all the State Governments /UT Administrations to make
this document more user friendly, important operational points of these rulings/
judgments were culled out and compiled. Some of the important judgments are
annexed as Annexure-II.
6. In order to comply with and give effect to the important directions of the
Hon’ble Supreme Court/High Courts, the Government of India has
i) Introduced section 436A in Cr.PC to liberalize the bail conditions;
ii) Introduced section 265A in Cr.PC for plea bargaining;
iii) Initiated the Scheme for Prison Modernization in 2002 in order to
reduce overcrowding, improve hygiene conditions as also provide
better facilities to prisoners and prison personnel.
7. Government of India has prepared a Draft Policy Paper on Prisons with the
approval of the Home Minister in order to broadly address the agreed upon
objectives in incarceration and the measures to be implemented by the various
State/UT Governments. The policy objectives as well as the measures required to be
taken by the State /UT Governments are annexed as Annexure-III.
8. The Sub Committee of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing
Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs presented to the Rajya Sabha on
26.02.2009 in their report of Modernization of Prison Scheme has also made certain
observations, on which action needs to be taken. The report has already been
circulated to all States for their comments and necessary action. Some of the
important observations are annexed as Annexure-IV.
9. The National Human Rights Commission has also been issuing suitable
instructions from time to time to all the States/ UTs against the violation of human
rights in prisons and take suitable steps in this regard.
10. For the strengthening of security arrangements in jails, the Government of
India has also been advising the State Governments vide advisories dated 21.9.1998
and 17.8.2006 for taking adequate and effective measures for tightening security and
to ensure that prisoners are not in possession of prohibited items like mobile phones,
weapons etc. The State Governments are requested to take appropriate measures in
the light of the aforesaid advisories.
11. Recently in the case of Jaswant Singh v/s State (Criminal Appeal No.
257/2004), the Hon’ble Delhi High Court vide its order dated 30.9.2008 has directed
to issue instructions for devising a foolproof system to avoid any lapse while
transferring convicts/ accused persons from one jail to another. In the instant case,
the prisoner had been released pre-maturely by the jail officials on being transferred
from one jail to another.
12. As for the human resources who are actually going to man these prisons , it is
recommended that the State shall consider:
• Establishing well equipped training infrastructure in the state, with adequate
skilled and well qualified instructional staff, to cater to the normal needs of basic
and in-service training for the prison staff in different discipline.
• Availing slots for in-service training being offered in ICA, Chandigarh, NICFS,
New Delhi, RICA, Vellore and other institutes sponsored by BPR&D/MHA.
• Deputing prison officials for training in specialized institutes in India and abroad
in consultation with BPR&D and MHA.
• Creating adequate posts for prison staff as per norms in different categories
commensurate with operational needs of safe custody, reformation,
rehabilitation, health care, legal assistance etc.
• Filling up all the vacancies, presently running up to 17.58% (2006) within time
bound frame and ensure proper cadre management through timely trainings,
promotions recruitments etc.
• Acknowledging the role of good work done by prison officers/ officials
individually or in a team by way of a suitable reward schemes.
• Rewarding those prison staff during whose tenure the prison shows remarkable
improvement in term of elimination of or significant reduction, in the incidence
of unnatural deaths, indiscipline by prisoners; number of prisoners pursuing
educational and vocational programmes, implementation of Section 436-A and
265-A to 265-L CrPC, 1973 etc.
• Nominating deserving prison officers for the award of Correctional Service
Medals on the occasion of Independence/Republic Day and presenting the
recipients such medals in ceremonial functions like State Day, Independence
Day/Republic Day etc.
13. All the State Governments/ UT administrations are requested to take effective
measures in the light of the recommendations made by the various committees/
court judgments, the Model Prison Manual and advisories issued by the Government
of India from time to time for the effective and smooth functioning of the prisons.
14. The receipt of this letter may please be acknowledged.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi)
Joint Secretary (CS)
Telefax:011-23092630
ANNEXURE-I
All India Committee on Jail Reforms [Mulla Committee - 1980-1983]
The Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice Anand Narain Mulla
submitted its Report in 1983 in which it had made 658 recommendations, majority
(90%) of which pertained to the State Governments. The Committee examined all
aspects of prison administration and made wide-ranging recommendations, touching
upon legislative, operational, security aspects besides matters like classification of
prisoners, living conditions in prisons, medical and psychiatric services, treatment
programmes, vocational training for prison inmates, problems relating to undertrials/
unconvicted prisoners, problems of women prisoners etc. The report laid emphasis
on the management of prisons to be entrusted to a cadre of professionals.
Kapoor Group’s Report
In July, 1986, the Government of India set up a Special Group with Shri R. K.
Kapoor, as Chairman to examine and review various aspects of administration and
management of prisons, especially in the context of security and discipline in prisons
and suggest measures for their improvement. The Group recommended better
communication systems, watch towers, wire fencing, raising of height of perimeter
walls, metal detectors, dog squads etc. Close Circuit Televisions (CCTVs) were also
recommended for monitoring activities along the perimeter wall, roof tops and main
gate area etc.
National Expert Committee on Women Prisoners
The National Expert Committee on Women Prisoners headed by Justice Krishna
Iyer was constituted in 1986. The Committee appraised the situation of women in
jails and made various recommendations. Some of the important recommendations
include:
a)
Women prisoners should be informed of their rights under the law.
b)
Only the women constables should conduct searches on women prisoners.
c)
Medical check ups of women prisoners or undertrials, should be done by
women doctors as soon as they are admitted to a prison.
d)
Women prisoners should be allowed to contact their families and
communicate with their lawyers, women social workers, and voluntary
organisations.
e)
Women prisoners should be allowed to keep their children with them.
f)
Voluntary organisations of women should be encouraged to be associated
with women prisoners.
g)
Separate jails should be provided for women. prisoners
h)
Special prosecution officers should be available to present the case of women
prisoners.
ANNEXURE-II
SOME OF THE IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS OF COURTS REGARDING PRISONS
AND PRISONERS
1. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has formulated guidelines for providing various
facilities to the children living with their mothers in the prisons. The Supreme
Court has directed the State Governments to follow these guidelines which
include providing the children with a healthy and clean environment, nutritious
diet, good medical care, adequate clothing, educational and recreational
facilities. Children below three years are required to be kept in a crèche and
those between 3-6 years in a nursery. The State Legal Service authorities are
also required to periodically inspect prisons to monitor that the directions given
by the Supreme Court are followed in letter and spirit. An advisory was also
issued by the Government of India on 15.5.2006 to all the States/ UTs to take
urgent action for implementing the orders of the Supreme Court. A compilation,
namely, Prisons and Law in India was also prepared by BPR&D in 2007 and
circulated to all State/UTs to apprise them of the legal position in this regard.(
R.D. Upadhyaya vs State of Andhra Pradesh (1994)
2. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has ruled on many issues such as (a) removing
overcrowding in jails (b) streamlining the remission system and premature
release (c) framing of a Model All India Jail Manual (d) providing proper medical
facilities and maintaining appropriate hygienic conditions (e) introduction of open
air prisons (f) need of complaint box in jails, etc. (Rama Murthy vs State of
Karnataka (1997)
3. Classification of the prisoners and their placement in different prisons by the
prison administration is a relevant policy decision. The discretion and power to
interfere by the courts in such matters does exist yet it should be used very
sparingly. (State of Maharashtra Vs Sayyed Noor Hasan Gulam Hussain
(1995 Cr. L. J. 765) SC)
4. A prisoner continues to have his constitutional rights during his incarceration
period except to the extent he has been deprived of it in accordance with law.
The loss of life of a prisoner in the jail through killing by a co-prisoner entitles
his legal heirs to compensation even if the U.P. Jail Manual has no provision to
this effect. (Kewal Pati (Smt.) Vs State of U.P. (1995 3SCC 660)
5. Safety and Security of the Prisoner
i. It is the bounden duty of the jail authorities to protect the life of an
under trial prisoner lodged in the jail.
ii. Failure of the state to ensure safety and security of the prisoner
indisputably warrants repair of damage caused to the victim or to the
heir of the victim by the acts of omission or commission of its officers
by the state. (Nilabati Behera Vs State of Orissa (1993 2SCC 746)
iii. The principle of sovereign immunity is not available to the state in
cases of contravention of fundamental rights of the citizens by its
officers. (State of M.P. Vs Shyam Sundar Trivedi (1995 4SCC 262).
6. Transfer, Video Conferencing, visitation etc.
i. Transfer to a distant prison, where visits of Society of Friends or
relations may be snapped etc, may be punitive in effect and every such
affliction or abridgement is an infraction of liberty or life in its wider
sense and cannot be sustained unless requirement of Article 21 of our
Constitution are satisfied. (S. Balamuragan Vs LG Prisons, Madras
(1996 Cr LJ. 1779)
ii. Right of visitation of a prisoner is not absolute. It is subject to
restrictions laid down in Bihar State Jail Manual. The Right of a
prisoner under Article 21 of the Constitution to be lodged in a jail and
general prohibition against his transfer to a distantly located jail in
the state or out of the state is not absolute. It is also subject to the
amenability of the prisoner to the maintenance of jail discipline.
(Kalyan Chandra Sarkar, Petitioner Vs Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu
Yadav and another, Respondents 2005 Crl. L.J. 944 SCC)
iii. However, under certain circumstances transfer of a prisoner to a
distant prison may be justified in the larger interest of maintaining
discipline in the prisons. (S. Balamuragan Vs LG Prisons, Madras
(1996 Cr LJ. 1779)
iv. Keeping in view the grossly indisciplined and unlawful conduct of the
prisoner even his physical presence in a criminal trial can be dispensed
with by directing use of video conferencing facility to the extent felt
justified by the trial court. (Kalyan Chandra Sarkar, Petitioner Vs
Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and another, Respondents 2005
Crl. L.J. 944 SCC)
7. The term “evidence to be taken in the presence of accused---“used in
Sec.273 of the CrPC, 1973, includes not only the actual physical presence of the
witness but also his constructive presence before the accused. Recreation of
evidence through video conferencing facility is covered under the scope of
constructive presence. (State of Maharashtra, Vs. Dr. Praful B. Desai,
Criminal Appeal No. 476 of 2003 with Crl. Appeal No. 477 of 2003 AIR 2003,
SC, 2053).
8. (i) Remission schemes introduced by the Government under Sections 432 and
433 of CrPC, 1973, are primarily introduced to ensure prison discipline and good
behaviour by the prisoners and are not meant to upset the sentences. (State of
Punjab Vs Joginder Singh (1990 2SCC 661).
(ii) Prisoners are not entitled to release u/s 433 CrPC, 1973, as a matter of
right. It is entirely the discretion of the Government to release the prisoners
prematurely. (P.V. Bhaktavatchalam Vs State of Tamil Nadu (1991 Cr. L.J.
1870)
9. Labour and Wages etc.
i. It is lawful to employ the prisoners sentenced to rigorous imprisonment
to do hard labour whether he consents to do it or not.
ii. It is imperative that the prisoners should be paid equitable wages for
the work done by them.
iii. In order to determine the quantum of equitable wages payable to
prisoners, the State concerned shall constitute a wage-fixation body
for making recommendations.
iv. We direct each State to do so as early as possible.
v. Until the State Government takes any decision on such
recommendations, every prisoner must be paid wages for the work
done by him at such rates or revised rates as the Government
concerned fixes in the light of the observations made above.
vi. For this purpose, we direct all the State Governments to fix the rate of
such interim wages within six weeks from today and report to this
Court of compliance of this direction.
vii. We recommend to the State concerned to make law for setting apart a
portion of the wages earned by the prisoners to be paid as
compensation to deserving victims of the offence, the commission of
which entailed the sentence of imprisonment to the prisoner, either
directly or through a common fund to be created for this purpose or in
any other feasible mode. (State of Gujarat Vs Hon'ble High Court of
Gujarat (1998, 7 SCC 392)
10. Following time bound directions issued for compliance within a period of four
months from the date of issue with further directions to file compliance report as
to the steps taken by the individual states etc.
(i) A child shall not be treated as an under trial/convict while in the
prison with his/her mother.
(ii) A pregnant woman, if required to be lodged in a jail, shall be
accommodated in a jail which has minimum facilities for child
delivery as well as for providing prenatal and post natal care for both,
the mother and the child.
(iii) (a) As far as possible and provided she (pregnant woman) has a
suitable option, arrangement for temporary release/parole (or
suspended sentence in case of minor and casual offender) should be
made to enable delivery outside the jail.
(b) Births in prison, while being registered in the local birth
registration office, shall mention the address as the locality and prison
shall not be mentioned and recorded in the certificate of birth that is
issued.
(iv) A female prisoner to be allowed to keep her child with her till the age
of six years. Thereafter, the child to be handed over to a suitable
surrogate as per the wishes of female prisoner or shall be sent to a
suitable institution run by the Social Welfare Department.
(v) (a) Children in jail shall be provided with adequate clothing suiting
the local climatic requirement.
(b) Dietary scale laid down and separate food shall be provided to
the children keeping in view their growth needs.
(c) Separate utensils, clean drinking water, vaccination, medicare,
clean and hygienic sleeping facilities etc shall be provided for children
and their prisoner mother.
(vi) Proper educational and recreational opportunities, crèche and
nursery shall be provided in the jail.
(vii) Jail Manuals of the states shall be suitably amended to conform to the
aforesaid directions.
(viii) State Legal Service Authorities to inspect jails in order to monitor
compliance with these directions.
(ix) Courts shall give priority to the cases of women prisoners
accompanied by children to ensure expeditions disposal of cases
pending against them.
(R.D. Upadhyay Vs State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. (Writ Petition
(Civil 559 of 1994)
11. Where the under trial has been in jail for longer period than the maximum term
he would have been sentenced to, if convicted, his detention in jail is violation of
Article 21 and, therefore, he has to be released forthwith. (State of AP Vs
Challa Ramkrishna Reddy (A./:R, 2000 S.G. 2083).
12. Government should examine the question of framing of a model new All India
Jail Manual. (Rama Murthy Vs State of Karnataka (1997 2SCC 642).
13. Disposal of cases of Undertrials- the SC directed the quashing of all
proceedings against persons accused of offences under the Motor Vehicles
Actwhere the proceedings were initiated more than one year ago and are still
pending; unconditional release of accused wherever maximum sentence under
the law is maximum of six months; unconditional release wherever the accused
is in prison for more than 3 years and the maximum punishment is not more than
7 years (common cause vs. Union Of India (AIR1996 SC 1620))
ANNEXURE-III
PAPER ON PRISON POLICY
OBJECTIVES BEHIND INCARCERATION-
(a) Nobody is born as a criminal; it is the circumstances, societal constraints,
inherited environment and at times accidents, which makes him a criminal.
So, it is a societal concern and there needs to be total overhaul in our strategy
in dealing with the prisoners. The mantra of the day should be “Reclaiming of
these offenders rather than Punishment”.
(b) Prisons shall endeavor to reform, reclaim, re-assimilate and rehabilitate the
offender in the social milieu by providing appropriate correctional treatment.
(c) The resources’ constraints with the state governments limit the scope of
expansion in prison capacity beyond some reasonably manageable level. This
logically brings us to the subject of thinking of ‘alternatives to imprisonment’ in
our sentencing policy.
(d) The atmosphere of prisons should be surcharged with positive values and the
inmates should be exposed to a wholesome environment with appropriate
opportunities to reform themselves.
(e) The State recognizes that a prisoner loses his right to liberty but still maintains
his right to be treated as a human being and as person. His human dignity
shall be maintained and all basic amenities should be made available to him.
Whereas his movement is restricted, he has freedom of life and all other
fundamental rights as laid down in the Constitution of India.
(f) The endeavor shall be to hit the root cause of the crime, i.e. poverty,
unemployment, lack of education and employability skills rather than imparting
of punishment only. Therefore, the focus shall be on correctional
administration and imparting of values, education, vocational skills & training
to help them live with honour by having gainful employment and rehabilitation
on release.
(g) The young children, especially of the women convicts, shall be treated with
dignity and all the facilities for their proper upbringing & education shall made
be available to them by the State.
(h) Effort should be to reform the criminal minds rather than punishing them
alone. This could be achieved by involving the criminal minds and keeping
them busy in education, work, physical exercises and instilling good values
through counseling, meditation, yoga etc.
(i) The number of under trials and convicts shall be kept at minimum by
recourses to a number of legal measures such as fast track courts, Lok
adalats and even through appropriate judicial interventions.
(j) The prisons shall be modernized and technologically upgraded so as to make
them safer, more secure, efficient, livable and transparent in their functioning.
(k) impetus needs to be given to the concept of OPEN prisons which supposedly
provide a much more humane treatment to the inmates for their
transformation and correction
MEASURES TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE STATE GOVERNMENTS/UT
ADMINISTRATIONS FOR ACHIECVING THE OBJECTIVES LAID OUT
1. Infrastructure & Physical Conditions of Prisons
1.1. Remove overcrowding in prisons by creating additional capacity taking into
account the existing overcrowding as well as future requirements. A fifty
years vision must be kept in mind while constructing new prisons.
1.2. Provide infrastructure as per normative standards for human living in
consonance with human dignity. All prisons to be constructed and
maintained on the basis of certain well defined universally accepted norms &
standards. the states to build new prisons on the concept of model prisons,
be it the Central Prison, District Prison or even Sub-Prisons where some
basic international norms and standards are to be followed
1.3. All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and, in particular, all
sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard
being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air,
minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation.
1.4. Proper water and sanitation system should be in place in every prison. A
norm should be adopted to construct flush latrines and bathrooms for the
prison inmates which shall enable them to comply with the calls of nature in
due privacy when necessary and in a clean and decent manner.
1.5. Every prisoner shall be provided at the usual hours with food of nutritional
value, adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well
prepared and served
1.6. Prisons will ensure separation of different categories of prisoners like
Women, Young Offenders, first time offenders, Under-Trials, Convicts, Civil
Prisoners, detenus, High security prisoners etc. Such a segregation of
prisoners shall be done in a rational and scientific manner. This shall
facilitate their appropriate treatment with a view to their social rehabilitation
as also control unnecessary & undesirable influences. Young offenders and
the mentally sick shall not be detained in prisons as far as possible.
2. Legal Policy Framework
2.1 Inadequacies of the legal provisions in the context of modern day prison
management philosophy need to be removed. Decriminalization of petty
offences is the need of the hour to decongest the overcrowded prisons and
apply the limited resources of Criminal Justice System to more serious
offences and offenders.
2.2 An immediate review of legal provisions to expand the list of compoundable
offences. Parole, remission and other options of pre-mature release also
need to be expanded.
3. Custodial Management
3.1 The primary responsibility of the prison is to ensure safe and secure custody
of the inmates. The custody shall be, depending on the offence of the
prisoner, in an open prison, normal prison or even a high security prison. The
Government shall encourage a system of graded custody of prisoners to
ensure smooth rehabilitation.
3.2 Discipline and order shall be maintained with firmness, but with no more
restriction than is necessary for safe custody and well ordered community
life, with due regard to the maintenance of the rights of prisoners.
3.3 The overall objective of reforms and rehabilitation has to be pursued within
the framework of custody.
4. Rights and duties of Prisoners
4.1 Prisons will ensure that prisoners retain all their rights as human beings
within the limitations of confinement/ imprisonment. Right to non-deprivation
of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India will be ensured
except in accordance with law prescribing conditions of confinement.
4.2 Right to integrity of the body; immunity from use of repression and personal
abuse, whether by custodial staff or by fellow prisoners.
4.3 Right to integrity of the mind; immunity from aggression by staff or by fellow
prisoners.
4.4 Right to fulfillment of basic human needs such as adequate diet, medical
care & treatment, access to adequate clean drinking water, access to clean
and hygienic conditions of living, accommodation, sanitation and personal
hygiene, adequate clothing, bedding and other equipment.
4.5 It shall also correspondingly be the duty of every prisoner to obey lawful
orders, rules & regulations and instructions issued by the competent prison
authorities and to respect the dignity and the right to life of every inmate,
prison staff and functionary and to abstain from hurting the religious feelings,
beliefs and faiths of other persons.
5. Contact with Outside world
5.1 Every prisoner shall be allowed reasonable facilities for seeing or
communicating with, his/ her family members, relatives, friends and legal
advisers for family affairs/ legal help with adequate safe guards including
reasonable facilitation for foreign nationals to communicate with their
diplomatic and consular representative.
6. Women Prisoners
6.1 Separate prisons for women offenders wherever feasible. At other places the
women prisoners shall be kept in a strictly secluded female enclosures/
wards.
6.2 There shall be special accommodation for all necessary pre-natal and post
natal care and treatment. Expectant Women or Women with Infants should
have a system of parole to deliver the baby outside the prison and thereafter
to bring up their infant in normal society upto certain age.
6.3 All women prisoners, and their children living with them in prison, should be
provided the basic facilities to keeping in view the guidelines framed by the
Supreme Court in case of R.D. Upadhyaya vs State of Andhra Pradesh &
others.
6.4 Educational and crèche facilities should be provided to the children living
with their mothers in prison
6.5 There should be better visiting area for women inmates to meet their
children. No meeting behind bars for women and their Children.
7. Medical Facilities in Prisons
7.1 At every institution (Prison), there shall be available the services of at least
one qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of
psychiatry. The doctors shall be regularly trained with regard to the specific
requirements of prisons like, HIV issues, homo sexuality issues, drug
addiction etc..
7.2 The Central prison should have a proper hospital/ dispensary with a well
equipped Laboratory with testing facilities and adequate availability of
medicines depending on prison population. There should be a proper
medical examination and a subsequent yearly medically examination of the
inmates and their proper medical record maintained.
7.3 Diet menu should be drawn by Dietician keeping in view the
demographic composition of prison population.
8. Management & Administration of Prison
8.1 There is a need to make effective use of the technological advancements
including Information & Communication Technology in the management of
Prisons for effective and transparent administration. Modern electronic
security gadgets be promoted in every prison
8.2 Video conferencing should be introduced in every central prison and district
prison which can be used for extension of remand and even for trial
purposes.
8.3 There shall be an active Grievance redressal system in every prison which
will provide every inmate the legitimate opportunity to voice his grievances.
9. Correctional Administration
9.1 Correctional work shall aim at bridging the gulf between the offender and the
mainstream society.
9.2 The aim of various correctional programs in prisons should be to channelise
prisoner’s energies into constructive and creative pursuits, instilling in them a
sense of confidence, developing amongst them social responsibility and
consciousness, fostering amongst them habits and attitudes necessary for
adjusting in the community, creating amongst them an awareness of futility
of leading a criminal life and uplifting them morally, mentally and socially.
9.3 Meditational therapies and practices like Yoga, Vipasana and Art of Living
etc. shall be promoted to erase the memory of past bad experiences among
prisoners.
9.4 We should use the physical strength of these inmates for developmental
work, games and other physical activities as much as possible;
9.5 Recreational and cultural activities shall be provided in all prisons for the
benefit of the mental and the physical health of the prisoners
9.6 After care institutions shall be established within the framework of the
Government or by co-opting private bodies/NGOs with a view to secure
rehabilitation of released prisoners
10. Education, Vocational Training and Work Programmes
10.1 The range of reformative and rehabilitative programmes should aim at
raising the educational and vocational skill levels; The skills imparted should
improve the employability of the prisoner to prepare them for employment or
self-employment after release;
10.2 The welfare schemes being run by the various developmental and welfare
departments of the state could pick up beneficiaries from the prisons inmates
as well.
10.3 A Government supported prison industry policy is required to ensure
effective learning, channelizing the physical & mental energies of inmates
and thus making them good & responsible citizens.
10.4 A system of payment of appropriate wages for the work done shall be
established which shall be reviewed periodically.
10.5 While organizing work programmes and production policy for planned
employment of inmates, the factors like mental and physical health,
requirements of security, custody and discipline, age, length of sentence,
inmate’s skills and abilities and also potential for acquiring new skills, urban
/rural background etc. should be taken into consideration
10.6 The vocational training and work programmes may be out sourced to the
credible training institutions of repute and help from NGOs may also be
sought for the same with adequate safe guards.
10.7 Encourage inmates to join correspondence courses from National Open
Universities/ Institutes.
10.8 The interests of the prisoners and of their vocational training, however, must
not be subordinated to the purpose of making a financial profit from any
industry in the prisons.
11. Welfare of Prisoners
11.1 The starting point of all welfare programmes shall be the initial classification
of the prisoner and the study of individual inmates.
11.2 The welfare programme shall include periodical review of progress and re-
classification of prisoners, review of sentence and pre-mature release,
planning for release, pre-release preparation and after care.
11.3 Different national events & festivals like Independence day, Republic day
etc. as also sports day and cultural festivals shall be organized in the prisons
so as to inculcate the feelings of brotherhood and patriotism amongst the
prisoners.
11.4 Active public participation in treatment of offenders shall be encouraged
12. Prison Staff
12.1 The functioning of prisons up to expected level of operational efficiency and
efficacy depends upon the quality of prison staff available. Service
conditions of prison personnel shall be such as to secure and retain the best
suited and qualified persons both for custodial as well as correctional
administration.
12.2 Prison campus should cater to the housing needs of the staff as well as
community centre to cater to the needs of staff and their children in order to
ensure their stay within the prison premises. Recreational facilities to staff be
provided within prison campus
12.3 After entering on duty and during their career, the personnel shall improve
their knowledge and professional capacity through regular in-service training,
both at the national and international level with focus on physical training,
correctional & custodial administration, Gender sensitization etc.
12.4 The State Government should provide basic training to the prison officials at
the entry level itself and thereafter they should be encouraged to attend
refresher courses meant for them and are conducted by various training
academy of the State Governments.
12.5 At the national level under the Ministry of Home Affairs following institutes
contribute in a significant way to provide advanced specialized in-service
training for the prison personnel at the regular level:-
(i) Bureau of Police Research & Development, New Delhi
(ii) LNJN National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science,
New Delhi
(iii) Institute of Correctional Administration, Chandigarh.
(iv) Regional Institute of Correctional Administration, Vellore.
13. Legal Aid Facility
13.1 For the purpose of his defence, an under-trial prisoner shall be allowed to
apply for free legal aid where such aid is available, and to receive visits from
his legal adviser with a view to his defence. Legal Aid Cell in each prison
shall be maintained to help in processing the legal aid applications.
13.2 For this purpose even NGOs and Law students could be encouraged to
contact the prisoners and their families on a regular basis to fulfill the
requirements of approaching the court.
13.3 Lok Adalats/ special courts should be held in each prisons to expedite
disposal of cases.
14. Encouraging Alternatives to Imprisonment
14.1 In order to de-congest prisons, the alternatives to imprisonment shall be
explored by proper amendments in the various statutes. ‘Probation’ and
‘Parole’ system which provide alternatives to the imprisonment at conviction
and post conviction stage do not seem to have been practiced to exploit their
full potential which needs to be explored.
14.2 Community Service, forfeiture of property, payment of compensation to
victims, public censure etc should be introduced as an alternative for
offences under small cases such as Excise Act and minor theft cases and
other minor offences.
ANNEXURE-IV
Important Observations made by the Sub Committee of the Department
Related Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs
1. Necessary steps may be taken to reduce overcrowding in jail.
2. The State Governments should take the initiative to ensure that the provisions
of the Model Prison Manual are complied with.
3. The young offenders/under trials need to be kept separately as when they are
kept with other hardened criminals, they often commit more serious crimes after
release from Jails.
4. The State Governments shall effectively invoke Sections 436A, 436(i) and 265
to 265 L of the Cr.PC, 1973 with the objective to reduce the overcrowding and
languishing of undertrials in jails. All the concerned authorities may use these legal
provisions which would help in reducing the burden on the prison infrastructure.
5. The Model Prison Manual shall be implemented by the State Governments so
as to maintain uniformity in the prison administration throughout the country which
will go a long way in effecting prison reforms.
6. The States should have atleast one prison exclusively for women depending
upon the average number of women prisoners in the respective State.
7. The States should create infrastructural facilities like crèches for the
accompanying children of women prisoners, hygienic living conditions and provision
of separate kitchen for women prisoners.
8. The existing medical facilities in the prisons should be overhauled and one
police escort party should always be provided to accompany a prisoner requiring
emergency medical attention.
9. The old system of shaving should be dispensed with and each prisoner
should be provided a separate disposable razor to check the spread of HIV/AIDS
among the prisoners.
10. Steps should be taken to make the procedure of visits to jail inmates
transparent in all the prisons of the country and there should be a mechanism to get
the feedback from the relatives of the inmates. The modern visitors’ chamber should
be constructed in place of ramshackled ones in which there would be transparent
glass façade and intercom facilities so that the prisoners’ visitors can talk while
looking at each other.
11. The telephone facility should be provided in some selected prisons of the
country on a trial basis. The inmates could use this facility in the presence of a jail
staff. The telephonic conversation could also be taped which would help in tracking
the connections of the hardened criminals.
12. Prison workshops need to be urgently modernized and they should function
like small modern industrial units with latest equipments.
13. The daily wages of the convicted prisoners working in the prison workshops
need to be increased. Simultaneously, these prisoners should also be given the
option of working extra hours to earn more money. The undertrials should be given
an opportunity to work in the prison workshop, if they willingly agree to do so.
14. There should be an effort to achieve total literacy among prisoners across the
country. There should be facility of correspondence courses in vocational disciplines
in the prisons and degrees/diplomas should be awarded to the prisoners after
successful completion of their course so that they could lead a normal life in the
mainstream of society, after their release.
15. The Government may consider opening of ITI-like institutions within the jail
premises to impart industrial training in various disciplines to the inmates, which
would go a long way in rehabilitating them after their release. In this context, the
State authorities can also consider converting existing prison workshops into ITIs.
16. Every State Government should introduce “Mobile Petition Box” for prisoners
to give suggestions and complaints.
17. The existing vacancies of prison staff must be filled up expeditiously and new
posts for which proposals have already been sent, be created at the earliest.
Further, the State Governments should post young and dynamic officers as Jail
Superintendents for effective and meaningful management of Jails.
18. Every State should have such open jails where the prisoners having good
conduct and who have spent considerable years of their sentence, could be sent.
19. The power of giving character certificate be entrusted to the respective Jail
Superintendents as they are the authorities who had been closely watching the
activities of the inmates for a long time.
20. Necessary steps should be taken by each of the State Governments to
prevent supply of drug in jail.
21. Our mindset towards prisoners should undergo a change so that a prison truly
reflects the spirit of correction and reformation by treating the inmates as human
beings.
