PRISON ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA: ISSUES, GAPS, NEEDS, AND THE WAY FORWARD FOR REFORM
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AUTHOR: ANMOL RAJAK
INTRODUCTION
Do you think prison should be a place of strict punishment or a place of rehabilitation? Whereas India till 2023 was following the old laws of the colonial era which were focused only on strict discipline, comfort and freedom was minimal, and limited facilities. The Supreme Court, National Human Rights Committee and various law reform committees like The All-India Jail Manual Committee (1957), The Justice A. N. Mulla Committee have attempted prison reforms to address prison problems like overcrowding, corruption, and extortion, lack of legal aid. To address such problems, India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has come out with a new Model Prison Act, 2023 which replaces old Prison Act, 1894.
This act focuses on reformation and rehabilitation, discrimination, technological etc. but there is a huge difference between the Act provisions and the ground reality. As the subject “prison” comes under the State List of Schedule 7, It is up to each state to adopt the new model prison act, 2023 but till now no one has adopted this. This article is about issues with prisons, and the need for a new Prison Act.
ISSUES WITH PRISONS
01. OVER CROWED
India's prisons are overcrowded due to its population, and more than half of the prisoners are under trial, waiting for the judgment that will decide their fate.India's national occupancy rate is 131%, due to which many prisoners do not get even basic facilities, which leads to many health and mental issues. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has also given multiple judgments to reduce overcrowding, such as:
Suhas Chakma vs Union of India (9 September 2024)In the judgment, the Supreme Court had said that open prisons are the only solution to overcrowding and it’s promote rehabilitation.
Hussainara Khatoon & Ors vs Home Secretary, State Of Bihar, Patna (9 March 1979)In this judgment the Hon’ble Supreme court declared speedy trial as a fundamental right under Article 21 of Constitution.
02. CORRUPTION AND EXTORTION
The prison administration is completely corrupt, which allows some prisoners to have extra items like phones and weapons, and they get these from the prison staff, who provide them in exchange for money.
03. LACK OF LEGAL AID
Some prisoners are so poor that they cannot afford their legal representation or even pay the bail amount and because of this they have to remain in jail and they are also not educated enough to know about free legal aid.
04. LACK OF REFORMATIVE APPROACH
Prisoners are seen as prisoners, not as people, and are not given the opportunity to change or be rehabilitated.
05. DISCRIMINATION
There is discrimination against prisoners in prison. Rich people are given rich treatment and poor people are given poor treatment.
06. WOMEN PRISONERS’ CONDITIONS
Women suffer more than men in prisons. They don't get proper nutrition, and they also face sexual harassment.
07. INADEQUATE SECURITY MEASURES AND MANAGEMENT
There have been several incidents of prison escapes and shootings in recent times, and fights between prisoners and deaths within prisons are common.
08. SHORTAGE OF STAFF
India has less prison staff than necessary, with a prisoner-to-officer ratio of 1:7, which causes staff to remain overworked.
09. UNSATISFACTORY LIVING CONDITIONS
There is no provision of potable water or good food in the jails, due to which the health condition of the prisoners deteriorates.
NEED FOR NEW PRISONS ACT
Here are the some main needs of prison reform:
01. OUTDATED LAW
The Prison Act 1896 has been in force for the last 132 years, but this law was made by the British to torture Indians, but this law has been broken and its provisions have now become irrelevant. The Prison Act 1896 has been in force for the last 132 years, but this law was made by the British to torture Indians, but this law has been broken and its provisions have now become irrelevant.
02. BETTER PRISON ADMINISTRATION
The staff is quite untrained, to improve their training a new law is needed which should also include psychology, technology and human rights in their training and new prison law is also necessary to reduce corruption in prisons.
03. PRISONERS’ REHABILITATION
Prison law should focus on the reform and rehabilitation of prisoners, which can be done by providing them education or skill training.
04. USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Technology can be used to make prisons safer and reduce overcrowding. Prisoners can be fitted with e-tracking devices while on parole or leave and jammers can be installed around the jail to prevent the use of phones inside the jail.
FEATURES OF NEW PRISON ACT, 2023
Here are the some main features of model prison act, 2023:
01. USE OF PROHIBITED ITEMS
This Act provides penalties and punishment for prohibited items such as gun or phones used inside prisons by prisoners.
02. ESTABLISHMENT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRISONS
This Act establishes different types of prisons, such as high-security prisons, which are for high-risk and dangerous prisoners, and their security is also high.
03. LEGAL AID, AND PAROLE
This Act provides free legal aid to prisoners who cannot afford a lawyer and grants parole to prisoners for good behaviour.
04. USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN PRISON ADMINISTRATION
The Act provides provision for video conferencing to reduce physical movements and to maintain discipline using the CCTV cameras.
CONCLUSION
These conditions highlight the urgency of prison reform, where prisons face overcrowding, lack of legal aid, and poor living conditions, etc. and prison administration still functions under the colonial laws.
The Model Prison Act 2023 attempts to reform prisons, but it will only bring about real change if all states adopt it. This requires removing the subject of prison from the state list and placing it in the concurrent list of 7th schedule of Indian constitution.
