In this blogpost, Sreeraj.K.V, Student of Government Law College, Kerala writes an article on the topic prison administration: a critical analysis. This article covers the importance of prisons in a democratic country, aspects regarding prison administration in India and the Importance of various fundamental rights available for the prisoners in India.

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

Prison

A prison is a place of accommodation for the people who have committed a crime and are undergoing trial for the commission of any offense mainly criminal in nature.According to section 3(1) of the prisoners Act, 1894,‘Prison’ means any place used under the general or

Special orders of State Government for the detention of prisoners, and includes all land and buildings appurtenant thereto.[1] Prisons in India, their administration is a state subject covered by item 4 of the state list in the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India. The management and administration of prisons purely come under the authority of state Government along with the Prisoners Act 1894 and also the Prison Manuals of the concerned State Government.

The Central Government provides various rules and guidelines to the State Government  regarding proper administration as well as ensuring safety and security in the prisons . Hon’ able Supreme Court of India , in its various judgments covering prison administration, has enumerated 3 broad principles for the proper administration of prisons in India. It includes:

• A person inside a prison does not become a non-person
• A person is entitled for the enjoyment of all kinds of human rights within the limitations of imprisonment
• There is no justification for the aggravating the suffering already inherent in the process of incarceration[2] .

Supreme Court has also looked into various matters inside prisons such as overcrowding, lack of proper medical care and other facilities for the prison inmates, lack of free legal aid available for them which is provided under the provisions of the Constitution of India.

Prison administration in India

We all know that crime rate in India is increasing at a rapid pace. But there are no adequate facilities in various prisons in our country to accommodate such person at least by providing facilities for a decent living inside the prisons. Even though there are certain rules and guidelines regarding prison system and administration, many of them are not enforced properly due to the prevailing condition of prisons in India. Various surveys state that around 80% of the prisoners are under trial prisoners, and the balance 20% includes people who are convicted of various offenses as well as women prisoners. The present condition of many of the prisons is that the prison authorities are unable to meet requirements of the prisoners.  In the light of such situation, it can be stated  that it leads to an infringement of the fundamental rights of prisoners to a great extent.

While going through judgments on various cases in connection with prison administration, we understand a common fact that in such cases, prisoners have undergone various ill treatments and negligence from the part of the prison authorities. One among such cases are Neena Rajan Pillai v. union of India[3], wherein Mr. Rajan Janardhan Mohandas pillai, who was one of the famous businessmen in Singapore, Died when he was undergoing judicial custody at the Cental Jail of Tihar. In this case, Court was of a view that there is a clear case of violation of fundamental rights for the deceased from the part of prison authority, and it lead to the death of the deceased. The court also stated that during such situations wherein urgent medical assistance is required for the prison inmates, necessary arrangements may be made without any delay or else it may lead to an infringement of  the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Various committees were formulated  by the Government in order to look after  the matters inside prisons such as All India Committee for jail reforms, The mulla Committee and The Krishna Iyer Committee, which looked into the reforms and rehabilitation of prisoners as well as for the proper administration in prisons.

Rights for prisoners

As India is a democratic country, each and every person is entitled to certain fundamental rights depending upon the nature of his living. As far as the prisoners are concerned, they are denied of certain rights available to other citizens in our country. But there are certain other rights exclusively for prisoners which include[4]:

• Right to speedy trial
• Right against solitary confinement, handcuffing and bar fetters and protection from torture
• Right to meet relatives, friends and consult legal practitioner of his choice
• Right to reasonable wages in prison
• Right to expression
• Right for reasonable health care

The Act

 Looking into the Prisoners Act,1894, Chapter 2 deals with the maintenance and officers of prison. It states that there must be a superintendent,medical officer, jailer and other such officers if there is a necessity. There must be an Inspector General in every prison to discharge various functions directed by the State.  Chapter  4 of the Act purely deals with admission and removal of prisoners. The Act states that after conviction, the person must undergo thorough checking by the prison officer along with a proper medical check up by the medical officer. Act lays down various provisions for the medical checkup of prisoners. They must be undergone through proper medical checkup, and if found sick, proper attention has to be taken by the authorities.

Chapter 5 of the Act deals with discipline of the prisoners . It states that male and female prisoners, convicted and under trail prisoners shall be kept separately. Prisoners who are convicted for a death sentence must be separated from all others. But due to the overcrowding of prisons, many of the guidelines are not abled to follow by the prison authorities[5].

Rehabilitation for prisoners

As our criminal Justice administration system purely focuses on a deterrent way of handling crimes as well as criminals. It focuses on such penal approach wherein the punishment for a crime must be a warning to the society and also it must provide some sort of reformative policies to the society. In such a context various  rehabilitative mechanism which can be adopted in the prisons helps the prisoners to make changes in the character and attitude and also be aware of the impact of the crime committed by them in the society.  Rehabilitation may be done in many ways such as:

• Conducting various awareness programs for the prisoners on a periodic basis
• Conduct various counseling classes for them so that their mental condition changes positively
• Conducting various entertainment programs inside the prison premises
• Conducting classes on social issues so that prisoners will be aware of what is happening outside the walls of prison
• Increasing the skills of prisoners by arranging various small scale ventures and events inside the prison
• Changing the atmosphere of the prisons into a friendly environment by avoiding various kinds of torture and third-degree measures.

Conclusion

Prison and prison administration plays an inevitable role in the criminal justice administration system in India. Various criminologists have stated that no one in this world born as criminal, but his economical and social backgrounds make him a criminal. In the light of such views, it has to be stated that the prisoners as well as the prison administration has to be changed in such a way that they should not feel isolated in this society, and there must be a hope in their mind that they also can change themselves and be a part of development in their society. Proper food, shelter, health care treatment and other such basic necessities must be fulfilled by the concerned prison authorities in order to make the prisoners a productive group of the society after their  period of incarceration.

[1] Section 3(1) prisoners Act 1894, retrieved on https://indiankanoon.org/doc/745425/

[2] Retrieved on  : http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/Prison-Administration-in-India-6178.asp#.VxlCAvkrLIU

[3] Neena Rajan Pillai v. Union of India WP (c) 1894/1998. Retrieved on :https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1524596/

[4] Retrieved  on : http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/po.htm

[5] Retrieved on : http://lawyerslaw.org/the-prisons-act-1894/