ABSTRACT
“No one truly knows a Nation until one has been inside its jails.
A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.”
- Nelson Mandela
The main purpose of every civil society is to punish the criminals. It is known that prisons have existed historically. Strict seclusion and imprisonment procedures were thought to help offenders change. Every Indian citizen is entitled to fundamental rights and equal treatment under the Indian Constitution. Although, the Prisoners are denied their most fundamental human rights. Throughout their imprisonment, they endure a range of sufferings as a kind of punishment, such as abuse, third-degree torture, overcrowding, filthy circumstances, etc. Their stories are suppressed inside the prison walls, and no one pays attention to their pain. Prison reform is required to guarantee that prisoners human rights are upheld and that, in accordance with pertinent international standards and norms, their chances of social reintegration are enhanced.[1] In India, several committees and reforms were done to overcome the situation of prisons and for progression of Prison Reforms. But even, after several decades having passed, yet the Prison Reforms fails to address the burning issue of Prisons. This Article intends to study the International Legislations, conclusions of various reform committees, lacunas in application of reform committees’ recommendations, as well as a variety of Supreme Court rulings and suggestions.
Keywords: Human Rights, Imprisonment, Prisons, Prison Reform, Seclusion.
Prison Reforms in India:
A Comprehensive Analysis Through the Lens of Judicial Pronouncements
- INTRODUCTION
Crime is defined as an unlawful act or omission punishable by law and has been a challenge for civil societies. To punish criminals, there are kinds of punishment where the major u/S. 53 of IPC, 1860. Where the most common punishment is Imprisonment which to expel criminals from society and send to Prison where criminals undergo reform and rehabilitation. Over time, it has been seen that Prison in not sufficient for a criminal to reform and there may occur issue of an individual further getting into crime. Prisons today are increasingly viewed as correctional homes focus on reformation and rehabilitation of inmates. The shift in perspective recognizes that successful reintegration into society requires more than just serving time, it needs addressing the underlying issue which contributes to criminal behaviour. Prison must emphasize reformative measures, offering facilities for education, vocational training, and recreation that aims to address social and ethical challenges that prisoner face and prepare them to rehabilitate into society.
There has been a shift from punitive approach to holistic, rehabilitative approach that aims for addressing root cause of criminal behaviour and offers a path towards reform and reintegration.
The harsh treatment endured by political prisoners in India led to the need for Prison reforms. Mahatma Gandhi quoted in 1947 during issue of Harijan that ‘All criminals should be treated as patients and the jails should be hospitals admitting this class of patients for treatment and cure. No one commits crime for the fun of it. It is a sign of a diseased mind.’[2]
- MEANING AND DEFINITION OF PRISON
The Oxford Dictionary defines Prison as “A building in which convicted offenders are incarcerated for the duration of a custodial sentence, and in which accused defendants who have not been granted bail are detained in custody on remand pending trial.”[3] Prison means “Any jail or place used permanently or temporarily under the general or special orders of a State Government for the detention of prisoners and includes all lands and buildings.”[4]
Traditionally, Prison meant a place in which persons were kept in custody when trail is pending or in which they are confined as punishment after conviction. Whenever someone abets to commission of and act which is forbidden by any law or ceases to not do any act which they are bound to do by law, then it is termed as a Crime.
[1]Prison & Penal Reform: the need for change https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/justice-and-prison-reform/prison-reform-and-alternatives-to-imprisonment.html
[2]How Mahatma Gandhi has influenced the correctional policy in many Indian Jails, THE INDIAN EXPRESS (Sept. 30, 2019) https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/gandhi-jayanti-gandhi-150-years-jalna-jail-strait-is-the-gate-6034184/
[3]Oxford Dictionary https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100346669#:~:text=A%20building%20in%20which%20convicted,custody%20on%20remand%20pending%20trial.
[4] The Prisons Act, 1894, Act 9 of 1894