Prisons in India: Types and Functions

The Author, Haritha Dhinakaran, is 2nd year, BBA.LLB student of Symbiosis Law School, Pune. She is currently interning with LatestLaws.com

INTRODUCTION-

A prison is something that can be defined as a kind of accommodation that is meant for individuals who have committed an offence and are undergoing trial for having committed that offence. The prisons and prisoners’ law in India are one of those laws that are constantly unnoticed and forgotten. They are not given sufficient importance as they should be for reform in todays’ scenario. There is a constant lacuna and gap as there is a lack of stringent legislations for people staying in the prisons who also have the right to live a life with all dignity and basic respect which all the citizens of the country are entitled to. There have been many instances wherein the prisoners have been subject to inhuman conditions and have been deprived of amenities such as balanced sanitary conditions and proper food.

There are special orders that have been issued by the State Governments that looks into the detention of prisoners and includes the land and the property that has been attached thereto. The administration of Prisons is mentioned in the State Lists as part of item 4 in the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India. The process of administration and management of prisons comes under the powers of the state in consonance with the Prisoners Act 1894 and the Prison Manuals that individual states would have individually drafted by states.

The Central Government provides certain rules and regulations with regards prison rules to the State Government to ensure an effective administration and making sure of the safety within the fore walls of the prison.

The Supreme Court of India, through various judgments that encapsulate several rules relating to prison administration. Some of them have been enlisted below-

• Every person is entitled to his very own personal liberty. This means just because a person is incarcerated or is in prison does not mean that the person becomes a non-person.
• A person who has committed an offence becomes entitled for the enjoyment of all different kinds of human rights but within the confinement and limitations of imprisonment.
• As the person is already suffering for the commission of his offence by incarceration, there should be no further aggravation of his suffering.

The Supreme Court has paid heed to various prison issues such as lack of proper healthcare and medical facilities, overcrowding, provision of proper facilities for the inmates as well as free legal aid which is explicitly provided under the Constitution of India.

TYPES OF PRISONS-

Prisons have been established under three different levels, as enlisted below-

• The Taluka level
• The District Level; and
• The Central Level

These different jails and prisons are alternatively known as- Sub Jails, District Jails and Central Jails. The infrastructure and various prisoner facilities like various medical, rehabilitations and security are seen to be better from that of the Sub Jails to the Central Jails.

Apart from these, there are various other types of jails such as the Women’s Jails, Open Jails, Special Jails and Borstal Schools.

1. Central Jails- The criteria enlisted for being categorized as a central jail is different and varies from one state to another. But something that has been noticed as a trend in India is that persons who commit offences that are entitled to a punishment for a long period (that is, a period more than two years) are more often confined to Central Jails and these jails have a larger capacity and occupancy than those of other jails. These jails have additional facilities such as rehabilitation.

The largest number of Central Jails are situated in Delhi (16) followed by Madhya Pradesh(11).

2. District Jails- They serve as the primary prisons in the states and the union territories where there is no availability of Central Jails. Uttar Pradesh has about 57 District Jails, Madhya Pradesh has about 39 District Jails and Bihar has about 31 District Jails.
3. Sub Jails- These jails are smaller in sized and are placed at a sub-divisional area of the states. There are states that have implemented a relatively higher number of these kinds of jails and have a very well-organized set-up of prisons even though it is of a lower level than the other jails. For example, Maharashtra has 100 sub jails, Andhra Pradesh has about 99 and Tamil Nadu has 96sub jails.
4. Women’s Jails- These are those prisons that look forward to housing exclusively female prisoners. These prisons may be existing at a sub-divisional, central and district level.  India has a total of 20 Women’s Jails in India with capacity of 5200 women and has an occupancy rate of 60%. As Women’s Jails have a very limited capacity, women prisoners in India are often housed in other prisons. Maharashtra has about 5 women’s jails, whereas Kerala and Tamil Nadu have about 3 jails each.
5. Borstal School- They are a type of a youth detention centre and are used for incarcerating and housing minors and juveniles. Borstal schools make sure that juveniles and other young offenders are ensured sufficient care, welfare and rehabilitation. This is to ensure that they are kept in an environment that is volatile and safe. The juveniles in such schools are provided with reformational training, education and moral influence that conducive and prevent crime rates. Tamil Nadu is known as having the highest occupancy with about 678 inmates.

FUNCTIONS-

The socio-legal system of India is always based on non-violence, mutual respect for each other and treating other humans with dignity. The major lesson that Indian laws seek to implement that just because a person commits a crime, that does not mean that the person stops exists being a human or can be deprived from personal liberty. The prisoners are also entitled to have human rights, because prison torture is a confession to the failure of the justice system.

This has been established through Article 21 of the Constitution of India that guarantees personal liberty and hence prohibits all kinds of inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment towards any person whether an Indian National or an alien. Any violation of this article would attract Article 14 of the Indian Constitution that encapsulates the right to equality and equal protection under the law. Further, the rights of a prisoner is also dealt with under Prison Act, 1894. Any excess treatment that is committed to a prisoner by the Police would attract the wrath of the legislature and the judiciary. Therefore, the Indian Judiciary especially the Supreme Court has been increasingly efficient and vigilant against possible encroachments on the rights of the prisoners.

Prisons have the function of upholding the rights of the prisoners as enlisted below-

• Right to Legal Aid- Human rights and personal liberty would see no use if a person isn’t provided with appropriate legal aid  to enable that they have access to justice in case of any gross violation of their rights. Legal Aid has become something that is no longer a matter of charity but is something that constitutes a legal right. The basic notion that Legal Aid underlines is that justice should be administered properly and that it should be easily available and accessible. It should be made sure that it is within the reach of everyone who wishes to enforce their legal rights. Legal Aid seeks to offer an opportunity to the Indian society for the redressal of grievances of the poor and the needy and thereby establish the foundation of Rule of Law.

Judiciary has played a very vital role in the development of the concept of legal aid and thereby leading to the expansion if its scope.

In the case of M.H. Wadanrao Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra, the Court has held that the right to legal aid is one of the basic necessities of fair trial.

• Right to Speedy Trial- This is one of the most important fundamental right of a prisoner that is implied through Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This aspect covers social interest as well as public interest.

In the case of Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar, it was seen that a large number of men, women and juveniles are still in prison awaiting trial. Therefore, this case laid down the foundation for ensuring speedy justice.

In the case of Mathew Areeparmtil and other. v. State of Bihar, it was seen that a large number of people who have committed offences were still awaiting trial for trivial offences. In this case, directions were passed to release such persons.

Further, in this case it was ordered that the cases in which there were tribals involved in offences undergoing imprisonment for a period more than 7 years, they should be released on an bail via a personal bond. In the cases where there has been no trial or proceedings that have been taken for or against the accused within a period of three years, from the time the FIR was lodged, the accused in such  case must be released under Section 169 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. There are a few cases wherein the charge-sheet has been submitted and the investigation has been completed within the last three years, the accused should be subject to reinvestigation and must be released. Fresh facts should be considered and he shouldn’t be arrested without the explicit permission of the Magistrate.

In the case of Raj Deo Sharma v. State of Bihar, the major issue that was addressed was whether based on the facts and the circumstances of the cases, the prosecution that is against the petitioner can be quashed on the reason that there was a delay in the conduction of trial. The petitioner has applied for the bail. The application for bail was allowed and the Supreme Court issued the following directions-

1. If the trial for the offence committed is punishable with an imprisonment for a period that exceeds 7 years, it does not matter if the accused is in jail or not, the court would close the prosecution evidence within a period of two years from the date of the record of the plea.
2. If the accused has been in jail for a half of the period of punishment as mentioned in the offence, the trial court has been vested with the power of releasing the accused on bail on certain conditions.
3. If the offence has been under trial that is punishable with an imprisonment for a period that exceeds 7 years, it does not matter if the accused is in jail or not, the prosecution must close the evidence when three years end from the date of recording of the plea.

• Right against solitary confinement and Protection from torture- Separate or solitary confinement of the prisoner, or the complete isolation of the prisoner from the entire human society is prohibited. Torture is something that is considered normal by an investigating agency for the extraction of confession. This morally shows the imposition of the stronger over the weaker.

In the case of Prem Shankar Shukla v. Delhi Administration, the appellant happened to be an under-trial prisoner in the Tihar Jail. He was supposed to be taken from the jail to the magistrate and back to the prison periodically with regards to certain cases that were pending against him. In such cases handcuffs should not be practiced unless there is a warrant. The Supreme Court held that handcuffs must be used only as a last resort.

In the case of D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, the court held that torture during custody is a gross violation of human dignity and is degrading to the individual. The right to life and liberty is an expression of human right and therefore, the court declared that no person who is arrested can be detained in custody without being informed of the grounds of arrest and he would not be denied the right to a legal practitioner.

CONCLUSION-

The criminal administration system does inevitably include prison administration as well. It is true when it is said that man is not a born criminal but the social and economic conditions that he is born into makes him what he is. Proper food , shelter and health care treatment must be given by the prison authorities inorder to really reform the prisoners after their period of incarceration.