NHRC directs all State Governments and Prison Administrators on medical examination of Prison inmates

The National Human Rights Commission has directed the Chief Secretaries and Inspector Generals of prisons in all States to ensure medical examinations of all prison inmates in accordance to a proforma designed by the Commission. Such medical examinations are to be undertaken forthwith are monthly reports of the progress and to be communicated to the Commission.

The Commission has also appointed a Special Rapporteur and Chief Co-ordinator of the Custodial Justice Programme of the Commission, to monitor these efforts of the State Governments and to assist and guide the prison administrators of the States in this behalf.

These directions were issued by the Commission upon the consideration of problems relating to the periodic medical examination of undertrial and convicted prisoners in various jails in the country, particularly in view of disturbing trends pointing to the spread of contagious diseases in the prisons. Particularly alarming was the high incidence of turberculosis. One of the sample studies conducted by the Commission indicated that nearly seventy-nine per cent of deaths in judicial custody (other than those attributable to custodial violence) were the result of tubercular infection. Though these statistics may not be valid for the country as a whole, what was particularly poignant was that, in many cases, the illness was found to have gone beyond the point of return even at the time of the very first medical attention accorded to the prisoners. The prison rules require medical examination of prison inmates upon or immediately after admission. The Commission was distressed to note that the conduct of such initial medical examination was more an exception than the rule.

The problem of the spread of contagious diseases is aggravated by the unacceptable degree of overcrowding in many prisons in the country. An obvious remedial measure is to ensure that all prison inmates have periodic medical check-ups for their susceptibility to infectious diseases and the first step in that direction would necessarily be the initial medical examination of all prison inmates, either by the prison and Government doctors or, in the event of there not being enough such doctors, by enlisting the services of voluntary organisations and the Indian Medical Association. Whatever be the source from which such medical help is drawn, however, it is imperative that the State Government and the authorities incharge of prison administration in the States should immediately take-up and ensure the medical examination of all prison inmates and, where health problems are detected, accord timely and effective treatment.