Introduction And Meaning Of Prison

The term prison is derived from the Latin term which means to seize. According to Oxford
English Dictionary prison means a place properly efficient and equipped for the reception of
persons who by legal process are committed to it for safe custody while pending of trail and
punishment.

Under the Government of India Prisons Act, 1870 prison means any goal or penitentiary
including the airing grounds and other grounds or buildings engaged for the use of the prison.
Prison means jail or any place which is used for the detention of prisoners permanently or
temporarily under the general and special orders of a Local Government.

System Of Prison In India

A prison is something that is defined as a place of accommodation which was used for the
individuals who have committed an offence and whose trial is pending for having committed
that offence. The prison and prisoners law in India are one of the laws that was unnoticed and
forgotten and it cannot get sufficient importance as it should be for reforms in today's
scenario.

There is lack of strong legislations for those people who are staying in the prisons who also
have the right to live with dignity and also entitled for basic respect like all other citizens of
the country.

There are many instances in which prisoners have been subjected to inhuman conditions or
treatment and deprived of basic needs such as proper food and proper sanitary conditions.
Prison should help in reforming humans instead of only punishing them. Reforms only be
brought in society when criminals get the right chance of improvement. If a person commits
crime that does not means that person stops from been a human being or becomes non-
human he cannot deprived from personal liberty.

Prison and their administration is a state subject covered by item number 4 under the state list
of seventh schedule of Indian Constitution. State government has exclusively power related
to the management and administration of prison. It is governed by the Prison Act 1894 and
the prison manuals of the respective state governments. The state has primary role and
responsibility and authority to change the current prison laws, rules and regulations.

The central government only have power to give assistance to the states to improve security
in prisons, medical facilities, for the repair and renovation of old prisons, development of
borstal schools, facilities to women offenders, vocational training, modernisation of prison
industries, training to prison personnel and for the creation of high security enclosures.

The Supreme Court of India through various judgments enumerated several rules related to
the prison administration.

Some of the rules are as follows:

 Every person is entitled to his own personal liberty. If a person lives in a person it
does not means that a person becomes a non-person.
 A person who commits an offence is also entitled of all kinds of human rights but
within the confinement and limitations of imprisonment.
  A person is already suffering for the commission of crime by punishment then no
other suffering is given to him.

The Supreme Court of India paid greater importance related to the various issues of prison
such as lack of proper healthcare and medical facilities, overcrowding, provisions of proper
facilities for the inmates as well as free legal aid which is expressly provided in the
Constitution of India.

Types Of Prison In India

In India there are three levels of Prison such as Taluka level, district level and central level
(sometime it is also known as zonal /range level). The jails in these levels are known as Sub
jails, district jails and central jails respectively. In general the infrastructure, security, medical
facilities, educational and rehabilitation facilities are better from sub jail to central jail. There
are also some other types of jail such as women jails, Borstal school, open jails, and special
jails.

1. Central Jail
The criteria for dividing a jail as a central jail are different from state to state. The
common feature of all states central jail is that those prisoners are confined in the
central jails who are sentenced to imprisonment for a long period that is more than
two years. These jails are made for lifers and for those people who commit heinous
crime. In this type of prison, effort is made to re-establish the morality and integrity of
the prisoners.

The criminals in these jails earn their wages by doing some hard work. These jails
have larger capacity of accommodation in comparison to other jails. These jails also
have additional facility of rehabilitation. There are total 134 central jails. Delhi has
the highest number of central jails that is 16, Madhya Pradesh have 11, Maharashtra,
Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu each have 9 central jails, Karnataka has 8 central
jails, Gujarat has 4 central jails.

Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep do not have a single central jail.
2. District Jail
There is not much difference between the central jails and district jails. District jails
are the main jails for those states and union territories where there is no central jail.
There are total 379 district jails in India.Uttar Pradesh has 57 district jails, Madhya
Pradesh has 39, Bihar has 31, Maharashtra has 28, Rajasthan has 24, Assam has 22,
Karnataka has 19, Jharkhand has 17, Haryana has 16, Gujarat has 11, Kerala has 11,
West Bengal has 12, Chhattisgarh has 11, Jammu Kashmir and Nagaland each has 10
district jails.
3. Sub Jails
In India these sub jails play the role of the sub-divisional jails. These jails are the
smaller institution situated at the sub- divisional level of the state. These jails have the
well organised and better set up of prison because they are formed at the lower level.
There are 9 states which have higher number of sub jails in India. These states are
Maharashtra has 100 sub jails, Andhra Pradesh has 99, Tamil Nadu has 96, Madhya
Pradesh has 72, Karnataka has 70, Odisha has 73, Rajasthan has 60, Telangana and
 West Bengal each has 33. Odisha had the highest capacity of inmates in various sub
jails.

There are 7 states or union territories which have no sub jails. The names of these
states or union territories are Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Chandigarh and Delhi.
4. Open Jails
The name of these types of jails may appear contradictory but this is true. These jails
are the minimum security prisons. According to the Rajasthan Prison Rules open jails
means the prison without walls,bars and locks. In these jails only those convicted
prisoners are admitted who possess good behaviour and satisfying the norms which
are prescribed in the prison rules. Minimum security is kept in these jails and
prisoners are engaged in the agricultural activities and allowed to earn for their
families.

First open jail in India was introduced in the Kerala by the Home Minister of Kerala
P.T. Chacko in Nettukaltheri near Neyyar Trivandrum on 28 August 1962. There are
63 open jails in the seventeen states of India. Rajasthan has the highest number of
open jails that is 29. Till the end of 2015 there were no open jails in the union
territories of India. In December 2017 Supreme Court of India directed the centre to
establish more open prisons in India.
5. Special Jail
These jails are the maximum security prisons and have special arrangements for the
prisoners. In these jails prisoners of particular class or classes are confined. Prisoners
who are confined in special jails are those who are convicted for the offence of
terrorism, violent crimes, habitual offenders, serious violation of prison discipline and
inmates are violent and aggressive towards other inmates. There are total 43 special
jails in India. Kerala has the highest number of special jails that is 16. Provisions
related to the keeping female prisoners in the special jail are also available in the state
of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal , Kerala, Assam, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
6. Women's Jails
Women's jails are those which are exclusively only for the female prisoners. These
jails are established for the safety of the women prisoners. These jails comprise of
female staff members. These jails are existing at sub-divisional, district and central
level. There are total 20 women's jails in India. Women's jails have limited capacity
so mostly female prisoners are confined in other forms of jail. Maharashtra has 5
women's jails; Kerala and Tamil Nadu each have 3 jails.
7. Borstal School
It is a type of youth detention centre and is used exclusively for the confinement of
minors or juveniles. The main and primary object of these schools are to ensure care,
welfare and rehabilitation of young offenders in which environment which is suitable
for children and keep them away from infecting atmosphere of the prison. The
juveniles in conflict with law are detained in Borstal School and provide various
vocational and educational training with the help of trained teachers. For the
reformation of juvenile and to prevent him from crime main emphasis given to the
education, training and moral influence.

Nine states have Borstal School. The names of these states are Himachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and
Telangana. Tamil Nadu has the highest capacity for keeping inmates in Borstal
 school. Himachal Pradesh and Kerala are the only states which have capacity to keep
female inmates in 2 of their Borstal school. There are no Borstal school in union
territories of India till the end of 2015.
8. Other Jails
Jails which do not fall under the above mentioned categories then these jails are come
under the category of other jails. Only three states have other jails. The name of these
states is Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra and each state have one other jail.
Karnataka has the highest capacity to keep the inmates in other jail after that Kerala
and then Maharashtra has. In spite of these state no other state or union territories of
India have other jails.

Functions Of Prison
The legal system of the India is always based on the non violence, mutual respect for each
other and treating other human with dignity. If a person commits crime that does not means
that the person stops or barred from been a human being or becomes a non- human or non-
person, he cannot deprived from personal liberty. The prisoners are also entitled for the
human rights because torture is a confession to the failure of the justice system.

Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees personal liberty and prohibit all kinds of
inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment towards any person whether an Indian national or an
alien. The violation of this Article would attract the article 14 of the Constitution of India
which talks about the right to equality and equal protection under the law. The rights of
prisoners are covered under the Prison Act, 1894.

Prisons have the function of upholding the rights of the prisoners which are as follows:

Right To Legal Aid:

The human rights and personal liberty are of no use if person not getting the proper legal aid
to enable that they have proper access of justice in case of violation of their rights. Legal aid
is a legal right of every person it is not a charity. The main purpose of legal aid is that justice
should be administered properly and easily available and accessible.

It should be ensure that legal aid is available for all persons who want to enforce their rights.
Legal aid provides an opportunity to the Indian society for the redressal of the damages of the
poor and the needy and establishes the foundation of rule of law. Judiciary plays a important
role in the development of the concept of legal aid and expand its scope.

In the case of M.H. Wadanrao Hoskot vs. State of Maharashtra AIR 1978 SCC 1548,
(1978) 3 SCC 544 the court held that the right to legal aid is the basic necessity of free trail. It
should be free for indigent and poor accused.

Right To Speedy Trial:

This is a most important fundamental right of prisoners. This right is implied in the Article 21
of the Constitution of India. This aspect covers the both social interest as well as public
interest.
In the case of Hussainara Khatoon vs. State of Bihar 1979 AIR 1369, 1979 SCR (3) 532
this case laid down the foundation for ensuring speedy justice after seen that there are large
number of cases of men, women and juveniles are pending and men, women and juveniles
are still in prison.

In the case of Mathew Areeparmtil and others vs. State of Bihar 1984 AIR 1854, 1985
SCR (1) 776 the court passed an order for the release of those persons who are in prison and
their case was still pending. In this case Court had seen that there were large number of
people who have committed offences and still waiting for trial of minor offences.

In the case of Raj Deo Sharma vs. State of Bihar (1998) 7 CC 507 Supreme Court issued
following directions:

 If the trail is of the committed offence for which the period of imprisonment exceeds
the seven years then the court should close the prosecution evidence within two years
from the date of he record of plea , no matter that accused was in jail or not.
 The trail court have power to release the accused on bail on certain conditions if the
accused was in jail for the half of the period of punishment as mention for that offence
which was committed by accused.
 If the offence has been in trail is punishable with imprisonment for a period exceeding
7 years then the prosecution must close the evidence within three years from the date
of the recording of the plea, no matter accused was in jail or not.
Right Against Solitary Confinement And Protection From Torture:
There is a prohibition of separate or solitary confinement of the prisoner or the complete
isolation of the prisoner from the entire society. Torture is the something that was consider
normal by an investigating officer or agency for the confession. Morally it shows the burden
of the stronger over the weaker.

In Prem Shankar Shukla vs. Delhi Administration 1980 AIR 1535, 1980 SCR (3) 855 in
this case the appellant are in an under trial prisoner in Tihar jail. He was supposed to be taken
from the jail to the magistrate and come back to the prison periodically in relation to the
certain cases that are pending against him. In such cases handcuffs should not be permitted or
practiced if there is no warrant. The Supreme Court held that handcuffs must be used only as
a last alternative.

In the case of D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal 1997 1 SCC 416 the court held that
torture during custody is a gross violation of human dignity and is degrading to the individual
personality. The right to life and liberty is an expression of human right. So, the court held
that no person who is arrested can be detained in custody without giving him knowledge and
information about the grounds of the arrest and he should not be denied for the right of the
legal practitioner.
Who is a Prisoner?
Now, let’s define who a prisoner is according to the Model Prison Manual 2016. A prisoner is
anyone who is confined in a prison under the authority of a competent body. In simpler terms,
a prisoner is a person held in jail or prison because they have committed an act prohibited by
the law of the country. In India, the terms “prison” and “jail” are used interchangeably and
both convicted individuals and those awaiting trial are commonly referred to as prisoners.

Rights of Prisoners in India under the Prisons Act, 1894

The Prisons Act of 1894 marked the first legal framework for regulating prisons in India.
This act outlines provisions aimed at ensuring the welfare and protection of prisoners,
including both convicts and undertrials. Here are some of the key rights granted to prisoners
under this act:
1. Right to Adequate Accommodation (Section 4)
Prisoners have the right to receive accommodation that complies with the standards
set forth in the Prisons Act of 1894. The Model Prison Manual of 2016 also
emphasises that living conditions in every prison should uphold human dignity,
covering aspects such as accommodation, hygiene, sanitation, food, clothing and
medical facilities.
2. Right to Shelter and Safe Custody for Excess Prisoners (Section 7)
If any prison becomes overcrowded and it’s impractical to transfer the excess number
of prisoners to other facilities, temporary prisons should be arranged to provide
shelter and safe custody. This is especially crucial during outbreaks of epidemic
diseases within a prison.
3. Examination of Prisoners by Qualified Medical Officers (Sections 24 and 26)
Every prisoner is entitled to be examined by a qualified Medical Officer. The Medical
Officer should record the prisoner’s health status, any wounds or marks on their body,
their fitness for specific labour (if sentenced to rigorous imprisonment) and any
relevant observations. These records are maintained in a book kept by the Jailer
(Section 24(2)). Female prisoners have the right to be examined by a lady matron, as
per the special or general orders of the Medical Officer (Section 24(3)). Prisoners
cannot be transferred from one prison to another unless the Medical Officer certifies
that they are free from any illness that would make the transfer unsafe (Section 26(2)).
Prisoners cannot be discharged from prison against their will until the Medical Officer
deems such a discharge to be safe (Section 26(3)).
4. Separation of Prisoners (Section 27)
In a prison housing both female and male prisoners, females must be placed in
separate buildings or distinct sections of the same building. This arrangement is
designed to prevent them from seeing, conversing with or having any interaction with
male prisoners. Prisons detaining male prisoners under the age of twenty-one should
have measures in place to separate them entirely from other prisoners, particularly
distinguishing those who have reached puberty from those who have not. Undertrial
prisoners should be kept separate from convicted criminal prisoners (convicts). Civil
prisoners should be kept apart from criminal prisoners.
5. Maintenance of Prisoners from Private Sources (Section 31)
Civil prisoners and undertrial criminal prisoners have the right to sustain themselves
by purchasing or receiving food, clothing, bedding and other necessities from private
sources during appropriate hours. This is subject to examination and rules approved
by the Inspector General.
6. Solitary Confinement (Section 29)
Solitary confinement cells must be equipped to enable prisoners to communicate with
a prison officer at any time. Prisoners in solitary confinement for more than twenty-
four hours, whether as a punishment or otherwise, must be visited by the Medical
Officer or Medical Subordinate at least once a day.
7. Supply of Clothing and Bedding to Civil Prisoners and Undertrials (Section
33(1))
Every civil prisoner and under-trial who cannot provide themselves with sufficient
clothing and bedding shall receive necessary clothing and bedding from the
Superintendent.
8. Employment of Criminal Prisoners (Section 35)
Prisoners sentenced to rigorous imprisonment may engage in manual labour for more
than nine hours in emergencies with written approval from the Superintendent. The
Medical Officer should assess prisoners while they work, record their respective
weights on each prisoner’s history ticket and ensure they have adequate rest. If the
Medical Officer believes a prisoner’s health is deteriorating due to a specific job, that
prisoner should be reassigned to a more suitable task as determined by the Medical
Officer.
9. Care for Ill Prisoners (Section 37)
Prisoners who are unwell or show signs of physical or mental health issues and wish
to consult the Medical Subordinate (doctor) must be promptly reported by the
overseeing officer to the Jailer. The Jailer, without delay, shall inform the Medical
Subordinate about prisoners in need of medical attention or who express a desire to
see the doctor. They must also follow any written instructions provided by the
Medical Officer or Medical Subordinate concerning changes in the discipline or
treatment of such prisoners.
10. Provision of Hospitals (Section 39)
Each prison must have a hospital or an appropriate facility for the care of sick
prisoners.
11. Visits for Civil and Undertrial Prisoners (Section 40)
Both convicts and undertrial prisoners have the right to meet with individuals they
wish to communicate with while in prison, during proper times and under reasonable
restrictions. Undertrial prisoners may be allowed to meet their duly qualified legal
advisors in private, without the presence of any other individuals, in the interests of
justice.