National Seminar on Prison Reforms<br>

The National Human Rights Commission organised a two-day National Seminar on Prison Reforms in New Delhi from the 13th-14th November, 2014. The aim of the seminar was to assess the status of the implementation of the recommendations made in its earlier seminar on the subject held on the 15th April, 2011 and to discuss what further steps would require to be taken to improve prisoners' condition and prison administration with a human rights perspective.
Addressing the participants, the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh said that despite prisons being a State subject, the Centre would make all efforts to provide funds for modernization of jails. From the next financial year, the Centre would focus on the second phase of their modernization. For the first phase, the Centre had provided Rs. 18 hundred crores.
Shri Singh appreciated the NHRC for reviewing the action taken by States on several recommendations about prison reforms and said that he would also visit some prisons in the country to see how many of them had been implemented. He said that the Centre is committed to implementing the recommendations of the NHRC with the cooperation from States. The Home Ministry had issued advisories to the States on various aspects of prison reforms based on several recommendations. He observed that there was little improvement in some prisons, but by and large, they remained in a pathetic condition. Skill development of prisoners did not meet the expectations. A Model Prison Manual had been prepared, which also required some modifications.
Earlier, the NHRC Chairperson, Justice Shri K.G. Balakrishnan said that there should be uniformity in Prison Manuals so that prisoners in the jails of different States get the same privileges. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs can also suggest some Model Rules for amendment in the 1894 Prison Act. He said that the action taken reports of different States presented some good picture of reforms in prisons, however, a lot was required to be done. States needed to spend more on prison reforms.
Justice Balakrishnan said that after filing of chargesheets in courts, the undertrial prisoners should be released on bail to reduce the burden of overcrowding in jails, which is a serious problem and may lead to violation of basic human rights of inmates. He also said that a large number of courts were required to be set up to clear the cases so that undertrial prisoners did not stay in jails beyond one year.
Highlighting some of the key recommendations of the Seminar, the NHRC Member, Justice Shri Cyriac Joseph said that there was near unanimity that Governments should provide sufficient funds to prisons. He said that prison should be perceived as a "home for corrective and reformative custody and care" and that the prisoners were also entitled for basic human rights within the limitations of imprisonment. Some of the other important recommendations were as follows:
1. The 1894 Prison Act, being very old, is needed to be replaced with a new Prison Act and the NHRC should prepare a draft Bill.
2. Prison Manuals also require amendments with a human rights perspective.
3. All possible measures should be taken to reduce overcrowding which is one of the biggest problems in most of the prisons.
4. A separate Prison and Correctional Services Cadre should be set-up.
5. Promulgate and notify the rights of prisoners in a form of a Charter in multiple languages.
6. Digilatise prisoners' activities and details of all prisoners should be made available on the website of the concerned jail.
7. The bail, parole and furlough should be made more liberalized.
8. Construct separate prisons for women, which should be managed by women officers and staff.
9. All Central Prisons should have necessary medical equipment and tele-medicine system should be introduced to address shortage of doctors.
10. Environmental friendly devices like solar energy, bio-gas, water harvesting should be set-up to reduce burden on the resources in jails.
11. Provide effective grievance redressal system with the provisions of complaint box and CCTV cameras and alert system in the barracks of jails.
12. Sanitation and potable drinking water facilities should be improved.
13. Skill development and capacity building of prisoners must be given high priority for which public-private partnership model must be exercised.
14. Foreign nationals should be shifted to detention centers from prisons after completion of their sentence till they are deported to their respective countries.
15. Constitute Board of Visitors in all prisons who could periodically review and advise the prison authorities on various aspects of facilities, training, correctional work etc.
16. NHRC should conduct a study on the condition of the released prisoners.
17. Connect courts and jails through video conferencing to avoid physical production of Under Trial Prisoners in courts.
NHRC Members, Justice Shri D. Murugesan, Shri S.C. Sinha, former NHRC Members, Justice Shri V.S. Malimath and Justice Shri G.P. Mathur, NHRC Secretary General, Shri Rajesh Kishore, JS (T&R), Shri J.S. Kochher, JS (P&A), Dr. Ranjit Singh and other senior officers, representatives from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, State Home Secretaries, Director General/ Inspector General (Prisons) of States/UTs, State Human Rights Commissions, Bureau of Police Research & Development, members of civil society working in the prison related field and other stakeholders participated in the discussions.