Prison Administration in India

The Prison system was old punitive and deterrent penal system used by the Indian administrators i.e. kings in the ancient days and the medieval days. In the ancient the religious books tells us that how the parents of the Hindu Iconic God Krishna were arbitrarily imprisoned by King kansa. In medieval History the imprisonments of the various Sikh Gurus and Chatrapati Shivaji was made. The kings were using their power so arbitrarily that they often arrest their own kith and kins. The arrest of the Kind Shahjahan by his own son King Aurangzeb was a fine example of imprisonment. Afterword in the 19th and 20th Century certain degree of transparency has been formulated regarding the imprisonments of people.  The Rulers, Nawabs and kings were using anarchist approach regarding the imprisonment of the people under shadow of sharia law or the Panchayat or native laws.  After freedom, prison administration in the country has been a matter of intense debate and criticism at various public fora.

In the recent years, the Supreme Court of India has come down heavily on the sub-human conditions obtaining in prisons. In many States, the problems of dilapidated prison structure, overcrowding and congestion, increasing proportion of undertrial prisoners, inadequacy of prison staff, lack of proper care and treatment of prisoners, etc., have been engaging the attention of the press and social activists. With a growing advocacy for the protection of human rights in the various walks of lives, the plight of prisoners has emerged as a critical issue of public policy.

“Prisons" is a State subject under List-II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The management and administration of Prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the State Governments, and is governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 and the Prison Manuals of the respective State Governments. Thus, States have the primary role, responsibility and authority to change the current prison laws, rules and regulations.

The existing statutes which have a bearing on regulation and management of prisons in the country are:

(i) The Indian Penal Code, 1860.

(ii) The Prisons Act, 1894.

(iii) The Prisoners Act, 1900. 

(iv)The Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920.

(v) Constitution of India, 1950  

(vi) The Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1950.

(vii) The Representation of People’s Act, 1951.

(viii) The Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act, 1955.

(ix) The Probation of Offenders Act, 1958.

(x) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

(xi) The Mental Health Act, 1987.

(xii) The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2000.

(xiii) The Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003.

(xiv) Model Prison Manual (2003).

Many Commissions, Committees, and Groups have been constituted by the State Governments as well as the Government of India, from time to time, such as the All India Prison Reforms Committee (1980) under the Chairmanship of Justice A.N. Mulla (Retd.), R.K. Kapoor Committee (1986) and Justice Krishna Iyer Committee (1987) 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. These committees made a number of recommendations to improve the conditions of prisons, prisoners and prison personnel all over the country. In its judgments on various aspects of prison administration, the Supreme Court of India has laid down three broad principles regarding imprisonment and custody. Firstly, a person in prison does not become a non-person; secondly, a person in prison is entitled to all human rights within the limitations of imprisonment; and, lastly there is no justification for aggravating the suffering already inherent in the process of incarceration. The imprisoned person is entitled to all the political and social rights. However, Now the Supreme Court had been hard on the Political Criminals and hence it has observed that the imprisoned citizen can’t be a candidate in the elections.

“Crime is the outcome of a diseased mind and jail must have an environment of hospital for treatment and care”.  - - Mahatma Gandhi

Adolescent Prisoner, Any person as who have been convicted of any offence punishable with imprisonment, or who having been ordered to give security under section 117, CR.P.C., 1973

Adult Prisoner , Casual Prisoner, Civil Prisoner, temporary detenues.

The following criteria must be adopted for the establishment of prisons:

1. The State Government or the Union Territory Administration will establish sufficient numbers of prisons, as far as possible, and provide minimum needs essential to maintain standards of living in consonance with human dignity.

2. Prisons will ensure that prisoners retain all their rights as human beings within the limitations of imprisonment.

3. The Prisons shall ensure the following categories of the prisoners of the Prisons,

a) woman,

b) young offenders,

c) under trials,

d) convicts,

e) civil prisoners,

f) detenues and

g) high security Prisoners.

4. The prisoners regime will prepare will prepare the prisoners a law abiding citizen, self supporting, reformed and socially rehabilitated life.

5. Diversified institutions shall be set up by the respective Government of the U.T. , State or of Central.

6. In order to manage the prisons as a unit , the Government shall laid down norms to govern them.

Probation, aftercare, rehabilitation and follow-up of offenders shall form an integral part of the functions of the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services. The development of prisons shall be planned in a systematic manner keeping in view the objectives and goals to be achieved. The progress of the implementation of such plans shall be continuously monitored and periodically evaluated.

Period spent outside the prison, such as release on leave/parole which are included as part of a sentence, should not be treated as broken periods. During such periods the prisoner shall be eligible for earning ordinary remission. For periods spent outside the prison which are not included as parts of a sentence (such as, bail, emergency release, escape and extradition) prisoners shall not be eligible for earning remission. In such cases, the prisoners should be considered as eligible to earn remission from the first day of the calendar month following the date of their re-admission.

Leave and special leave to inmates are progressive measures of correctional services. The release of a prisoner on leave not only saves him from the evils of incarceration but also enables him to maintain social relations with his family and the community. It also helps him maintain and develop a sense of self-confidence. Continued contacts with family and the community sustain in him a hope for life. The provisions for grant of leave should be liberalised to help a prisoner maintain a harmonious relationship with his family. The privilege of leave should, of course, be allowed to selective prisoners on the basis of well-defined norms of eligibility and propriety.

The objectives of releasing a prisoner on leave are:

i)  To enable the inmate to maintain continuity with his family life and deal with family matters,

ii) To save him from the evil effects of continuous prison life,

iii) To save him from the evil effects of continuous prison life,

iv)  To enable him to develop constructive hope and active interest in life.

Admittedly after conviction if leave is allowed to a prisoner, then such Leave is not a right but a concession which may be granted to convicts. This concession is subject to cancellation. The State Government/Inspector General reserves the right to debar/withdraw any prisoner, or category of prisoners, from the concession of leave.

Leave is not granted to the convicts of offences, those presence is considered dangerous or otherwise prejudicial to public peace, those who are Prisoners who are considered dangerous, those who are Prisoners convicted for offences such as dacoity, terrorist crimes, kidnapping, smuggling including those convicted under NDPS Act, those who are Prisoners committed for failure to give security, those who are Prisoners suffering from mental illness, And  those who are Prisoners whose work and conduct have not been good during the preceding 12 months.

Like Parole , facility to Prisoner under term furlough could be availed to a prisoner who is sentenced to 5 years or more or rigorous imprisonment but has undergone 3 years of imprisonment excluding remission can be released on furlough. A prisoner, as described above, would beo entitled to 7 weeks of furlough in a year. The first spell could consist of 3 weeks, while the subsequent spells would consist of 2 weeks each. In order to be eligible to obtain furlough, the prisoner must

Fulfill the following criteria:-

a) Good conduct in the prison and should have earned three Annual Good Conduct Remissions’ and continues to maintain good conduct;

b) The prisoner should not be a habitual offender;

c) The prisoner should be a citizen of India.

d) The prisoner should not have been convicted of robbery, dacoity, arson, kidnapping, abduction, rape and extortion;

e) The prisoner should not have been convicted of any offence relating to any offence against the State such as sedition;

f) The release of the prisoner should not be considered dangerous or deleterious to the interest of national security or there exists reasonable ground to believe that the convict is involved in a pending investigation in a case involving serious crime;

g) The convict is not such a person whose presence is considered highly dangerous or prejudicial to the public peace and tranquillity by the District Magistrate by his home district.