INTRODUCTION
Article 21 has not only protected the right to life, but it has also ensured the right to personal liberty; and nobody may be robbed of them unless it is done so in accordance with the method that is set by law. The Indian court system has shown its most innovative side whenever it has been tasked with interpreting article 21, with the possible exception of the brief interregnum that occurred under the emergency rule. Today, article 21 stands out as the guiding light for all those who cherish freedom, guaranteeing the development of further rights when they are required and assuring a minimum degree of justice in all judicial procedures[1]. This article has become a beacon light for all those who cherish freedom. Under the rubric of “procedure established by law,” the Supreme Court took on the role of a freedom fighter for the American people and instituted a method that adhered to the principles of “reasonableness, fairness, and justness[2].”
The inclusion of reasonableness in article 21 broadened the scope of the article and gave the incentive to bring about justice in a number of different areas. The expansive scope that is currently accorded to this right encompasses a variety of facets that the people who drafted the constitution may or may not have envisioned, such as the “right to privacy, the right to travel abroad, the right to one’s livelihood, prisoners, health, the right to timely medical aid, free legal aid, a speedy trial, the right to live in a healthy environment, shelter, education, affirmative action, and compensation for the violation of one’s right to life and personal liberty.[3]“
Despite the fact that all people, even those incarcerated, are entitled to enjoy their human rights, there are particular problems that need to be addressed with regard to a specific type of prisoners.
[1] National Human Rights Commission, Rights of Prisoners, (2021), available at: https://nhrc.nic.in/sites/default/files/11%20Rights%20of%20Prisoners-compressed.pdf (last visited on April 24, 2025).
[2] Mohd Tariq Umar & Prof. Hashmat Ali Khan, ‘A Predicament of Women Under-Trial Prisoners and Its Impact on Their Basic Human Rights’, 3 Symbiosis Law School Nagpur Journal of Women, Law & Policy 50 (2023).
[3] Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, LL.M. 203 Unit 4: Rights of Prisoners (2023) (Unpublished course material, Department of Human Rights, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, available at https://www.bbau.ac.in/dept/HR/TM/LL.M.%20203%20Unit%204.%20Rights%20of%20prisoners.IGNOU.pdf).