Prisoners have rights, deserve dignified life

The Supreme Court has again called for urgent steps to improve the conditions in India’s jails through comprehensive changes and reforms in rules, administration and attitudes. It has also ordered some measures to be taken by the chief justices of high courts and by governments to ensure just and fair treatment to prisoners and to hold those who mistreat them accountable for their actions. It is not the first time that the court has underlined the need for reforms which will make jails in the country more human. In a civilised society, where the rule of law prevails, every prisoner is entitled to a decent and dignified life. The human and fundamental rights of a person cannot be ignored or violated even in prison. The court has told the government to sensitise jail staff about the prisoners’ rights and to be “circumspect” in arresting people if minimum facilities cannot be provided to prisoners. High courts have also been told to institute suo moto actions and procedures to clean up jails.

There are 1,387 prisons in the country, which hold over 4,20,000 prisoners, much above their capacity. Two-thirds of the prisoners are undertrials, who await trial for long periods, sometimes decades. Jails become nurseries of crime because undertrials live with hardened criminals there. Many undertrials are declared innocent and freed after they waste a good part of their lives in jails. A number of proposals to reduce the number of undertrials have been put forward and efforts have been made in the past, but their population has kept increasing. Speeding up the judicial process is key to reducing the number of undertrials. Plea bargaining, limiting the number of adjournments, use of written arguments and modernisation of judicial processes are some methods to reduce delays. Every bail application need not be opposed and remand of every suspect need not be sought, because bail is the right of all accused and should be the norm.

The court has noted that a large number of unnatural deaths take place in jails. These may be the result of custodial violence, poor health facilities or neglect by authorities, fight among prisoners or suicide. The suicide rate in prisons is 50% more than among the general public. The court has ordered payment of compensation to the kin for unnatural deaths of prisoners, but such deaths should be prevented in the first place. It has also called for the establishment of more open air jails and facilities for better interaction of prisoners with the outside world. To improve the prisons, the basic idea about them should change. They are meant to reform people, not to dehumanise them.