NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES

(A State University Est. by Act 27, 2005 of Kerala State Legislature)

Vinayak S Nair
1st Semester - B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)
ROLL NO. : 1981

ASSIGNMENT SUBJECT

Rights of Prisoners in Indian Jails

SUBMITTED TO: Ms. Merin Sabu

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 27 September 2023

constitution. In a country like India where there are people from diverse communities it

becomes quintessential to make them aware of their rights in this context we are going to talk

about the rights of prisoners in Indian prisons. Prisoners in India are facing major issues in

every aspect. Even though we have many international and national agreements to reform

their lives. In this brief assignment, we will be talking about the basic issues faced by the

prisoners and their specific rights. The aspects of healthcare, education, family, and reform

measures for prisoners will be studied thoroughly along with the role of the judiciary.

Introduction
India is a huge country with the world’s largest population of approximately 140 crore people

living together of various religions, races, and ethnicities. Since we have this much

manpower the chances of crimes are high. Prisoners are people who have attempted an

offense and are sentenced to imprisonment whose period depends on how grave their offense

was. During the earlier times not only in India but prisoners in general were treated like

animals. The rights of prisoners have become a topic of discussion. Many a times there have

been instances where the basic human rights of prisoners have been violated. The

Constitution of India grants basic fundamental rights to all its citizens, including the

prisoners. They have a right to life(Article 21), the right to a fair trial(Article 22), and the

prohibition of inhuman treatment(Article 20). Not only the constitution but also several other

international agreements and declarations have been established to ensure that the basic rights

of prisoners are not violated. Despite the existence of these abundant measures to ensure

prisoner’s rights the irony is that still some prisoners are denied their basic rights. By

ensuring the prisoners their rights we are ensuring that there is a constant flow of justice in

the society. Prisoners should be assisted in the process of rehabilitation and guided in a new

light. By upholding prisoners' rights, the rule of law is upheld. The state sets an example for

other citizens to uphold the law when it respects the legal and human rights of prisoners. It

indicates that laws also apply to the government, encouraging a culture of justice and

legitimacy. In this essay, we will be looking deeply into topics concerning the rights of Indian

prisoners like their education, family, initiatives to improve the quality of life, and other

constitutional aspects.

Historical perspective

In the past prisons acted as places for captives whose inmates were enemies of the state and

criminals of the existing justice system. During the Vedic age the main purpose of prisons

where to curb the prisoners from repeating the same offences. The detainees didn’t have any
form of rights or safety. The jail system in medieval India was similar to that of medieval

civilizations. During this time offense was categorized into three sins against god, offenses

against private, and offenses against the state.T B Macaulay was the person who first brought

about changes in the modern prison system in 1835. A commission was formed to provide

recommendations for changes to Indian prisons in 1919-20, and Alexander Cardew served as

its chairman. After reviewing the situation of prisoners around the world, the commission

concluded that institutions should not only have evolving theories, but also a rehabilitation

strategy. In its report, the committee stressed the need for a reformative approach to convicts

and condemned the practice of physical punishment in prison. During the post-independence

era, the prison system had a lot of reforms and many committees were formed to discuss this

topic. In 1983 the Mulla Committee published its report and it aimed to implement a

comprehensive legal system. Another Committee called the Justice Krishna Iyer Committee

was formed to study the condition of women police officers in the force. The Prisons Act of

1894 describes how the administration should be in jail and this act mainly pressures the

issues of rehabilitation and reformation of inmates. This act hadn’t gone through many

changes in the previous years. The Model Prison Manual(MPN) which was formed in 1960

created a base for Indian prison management. This organisation advised the Government of

India to form a Committee which was formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1972. This

issued guidelines on how the prisoners should be treated and how they would contact their

families. The basic fundamental rights including Article 14,20,21,22 were widely interpreted

through many landmark cases.

Constitutional and Legal Framework

The constitution has numerous articles and acts that make sure that the basic rights and safety

of prisoners are ensured in Indian jails. The word "prison" does not imply the use of abrupt
force or shackling. The Prison is a retirement home. Prison is a facility where criminals who

have violated the law are put in secure custody before trial or punishment. At first, it served

just as a holding facility for criminals awaiting trial and the final penalty, but there came a

time when incarceration gained legitimacy on its own. Along with some of the fundamental

rights prisoners also have some other rights like the Right to a speedy trial, the Right to meet

their own family, the Right to a fair trial, and the right to live with dignity. The prisoners also

have many other rights where they are prevented from custodial violence and solitary

confinement by the police. The Bangkok Rules 2011 adopted by the United Nations

emphasizes the fact that women offenders should be given adequate facilities and

noncustodial measures should be adopted for them. A new law called the Model Prisons Act

2023 after a lot of deliberation and amendments will soon replace the 130-year-old colonial

law, the Prisons Act 1894. The new law attempts to address the gaps in existing rules. The

judiciary in every country is obliged to make sure that justice is granted to all the citizens.

The Supreme Court of India has been one of the most active courts in cases concerning

prisoners' rights. The National Human Rights Commission also has been cautious about these

cases. The need for prison reforms has come into focus during the last three to four decades.

The legislature, judiciary, and related organizations should make sure that the rights of

prisoners are not violated anymore in today's era.

Dignity and Humane Treatment

treatment in moral, ethical, and political discourse. It is a continuation of the idea from the

Enlightenment that every person has an unalienable right that was given to them by God. This

idea is linked to ideas like virtue, respect, self-respect, autonomy, and human rights. Human

rights have become an integral part of humans starting with the Magna Carta(1215) followed

by the English Bill of Rights(1688), the American Declaration of Independence (1776), and
the French Declaration of Man (1789).In the case of Maneka Gandhi vs. The Union of

India, it was ruled that the Right to Life not only means mere physical well-being but also

the Right to dignity. The living conditions of prisoners in these prisons are another topic for

debate. The sanitation facilities in most prisons are not on par with the prescribed standards

which in turn affects the physical and mental health of the inmates adversely. Overcrowding

is one of the leading problems in Indian prisons. It is mainly caused by the alarming increase

in the number of under-trial cases. For the quick judgments of cases, Fast courts were

introduced in 2000 by the recommendation of the 11 th Finance Commission but this was

effective to only a certain limit after that the old issue of cases piling sprang up again. The

staff shortage issue is also very critical in Indian prisons as there is not much staff to go

around for the same number of prisoners. The absence of quality and timely legal aid services

worsens the situation as it presents the issue of unequal representation of the poor in seeking

justice. Abuse of prisoners daily has also become an issue of concern. Women prisoners are

extremely vulnerable in these situations as in some cases there have been instances where

they were sexually abused. Violence by the police in these institutions in various forms is still

being continued and can have detrimental results in the long run. Torture in the Indian jail has

caused both physical and mental suffering among the prisoners. The unethical use of power

by the police should be checked by the judiciary.

Right to a Fair trial and due process

The ethics of law is such that you are innocent until you are proven guilty. This is called the

Presumption of Innocence. All the parties in a case the accused, the victim, and society

should be given a fair chance in trial. It is important that harmless people do not get convicted

in a case. If it happens then this undermines the spirit of the judicial system in India. A fair

trial would imply a trial before an impartial judge, a fair prosecutor, and a judicially calm

setting. Sometimes justice has to be delivered much more swiftly to not delay the final
judgment. The Right to Speedy Trail comes under Section 309 of the Indian Penal

Code(IPC). The Constitution of India provides to all its citizens the Right to Free Legal Aid

which was added to Article 39A by the 42 nd amendment of the Constitution. The famous and

well-renowned Justice Krishna Iyer once declared that it was the state's duty to provide free

legal aid and not the charity of the government. Lok Adalats are an alternate means of dispute

resolution. They have been established to provide aid to the existing courts and it’s a better

way to solve the disputes as there involves no court fee and has a much swifter way of

dispute resolution. Section 6 of the Legal Services Authority Act 1987 clearly lists all the

powers and provisions of the Lok Adalats. Even though there are numerous NGOs with their

arms open to free legal aid services since we have such a huge population much more

coordination between the government and other helping parties is quintessential. The

common people are also not aware of terms like Legal Aid or Lok Adalats so a wide

sensitivisation of legal knowledge has become vital for the progress of the legal field in our

country. Adding salt to the wound many lawyers are not ready to step in to provide their

services as they all have started demanding money and the core issue not only lies with them

but also the fees of advocating representing the poor should be sanctioned by the government

legal students also can and have a duty to the society. In short, we all need to help spread

awareness and make sure no one is robbed of their rights, and joint action by the government,

the legal service authorities, and the society will lead to the proper implementation and

monitoring of these rights.

Access to health care in prisons

Health is defined as one's well-being in physical, mental, and social measures. The

Constitution of India lists out Right to Health as a fundamental right to all the citizens which

includes the prisoners as well. The respected officers and prison authorities are obliged to

provide adequate health facilities to all the inmates. But presently in India, the conditions are
far from worse. During the past few years, there have been instances where many prisoners

have died from illnesses and ailments that could have been prevented by providing basic

healthcare. Prisoners deserve better healthcare as they not only have access to other

healthcare like normal citizens but they are also exposed to a more congested and unhealthy

environment in today's Indian jails. In this situation, they face a double handicap. During the

COVID time, the prisoners had a long time as the majority of people in high occupancy

contracted with Covid 19. Despite the release of some prisoners by the Supreme Court the

situation still couldn’t be curbed efficiently. Since there is a wide spectrum of people with

different ages and existing medical conditions like asthma this proved fatal. The healthcare of

prisoner is something that cannot be compromised and it helps in upholding their dignity.

Family and communication rights

The scope of human rights is diversifying every day and the Right to Liberty mentioned in

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution allows the inmates to meet their families. The different

means of communication for the prisoner to their families, currently provided in the Indian

prisons include the interview system, the phone call, and the inland/postcard/letter. The

Model Prison Manual provides guidelines for the facilitation of these means of

communication. In present-day India, the Mulaqat system allows families of the inmates to

have a casual meeting not exceeding 20 minutes and most scenarios the presence of guards.

Educational and vocational training

Education is one of the basic things that has the power to transform any individual. Prison

education includes both general and vocational training which equips the inmates with a skill

or degree that will be useful once they have completed their sentence and become a part of
the outside world again. No restriction is imposed on prisoners when it comes to reading

materials: They are allowed to access material for their recreation or nurturing of their skills

and development of personality including their capacity to pursue education while in jail. It

helps in reducing the chances of prisoners re-offending the same crime when they are

released.