Bijendra Gogoi
(The writer can be reached at bijendragogoidme@gmail.com)
Oscar Wilde said, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future”. Wilde’s words are an apt reflection of the fact that no man is a born criminal. Crime is a serious social issue which is omnipresent in all societies. No matter how stringent laws are formulated, certain people will invariably violate them owing to various socio-economic and personal factors. The convicts face sentences that vary from medium or rigorous imprisonment. However, many undertrials also languish in jails due to prolong court proceedings. Normally, we consider jails as a place of acute suffering for the inmates, but in contrast incarceration is meant for transforming a transgressor into an honest and law-abiding citizen. The Supreme Court on many occasions reiterated that prisoners don’t cease to be human beings. The apex court recognized the rights of prisoners and also suggested better rehabilitative surrounding at prisons to reform them as better human beings.
The “Prison Statistics India 2017”, the latest report published by National Crime Records Bureau on 21st October 2019 on the status of prisons in India sheds light on some reflective details. As per this report, there were 4,50,696 prisoners in Indian jails in 2017 out of which 68.5% were undertrials. The report stated that about 6,634 individuals with mental illness were in jail. However, only six States and one Union Territory were having mental health professionals. The three States with the most prisoners with mental illness – Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh – did not have a single psychologist or Psychiatrist in their jails.
Another striking revelation is the number of unnatural deaths reported in jails, which increased from 115 in 2015 to 133 in 2017. During 2016, this was even higher, which was recorded at 231. Out of these unnatural deaths, the prisoners who committed suicide went up from 77 in 2015 to 109 in 2017. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a report in 2014 stated that on an average, a person is one-and-a-half times more likely to commit suicide in prison than outside, which is an indicator of the magnitude of mental health concerns within prisons. The Prison Statistics also give an indication towards the quantum of challenge faced by jail authorities in carrying out reform initiatives. Nearly 31.2% of all staff positions across India’s prisons were vacant in 2017.
Attaching utmost importance to transforming prisoners, the 5th National Conference of the Heads of Prisons of States and Union Territories on Prison Reform held in 2017 adopted several important resolutions. Most pertinent was renaming the Prison Department as “Prisons and Correctional Administration”, which should have integrated prison, correctional and probation services. The conference also suggested establishing a welfare wing under the prison department in every state comprising welfare officers, law officers, counsellors and probation officers. The 6th National Conference of the Heads of Prisons also gave importance to welfare and wellbeing of prisoners and maintaining minimum standard at prisons.
The transition from the stereotypical concept of prison as an institution for torture to an institution for reform brought into fore the relevance of open prisons again. In India, the earliest open prison was established in 1953 in Uttar Pradesh. However, it was in Rajasthan’s first open prison, which was set up in 1955 that prisoners were first allowed to stay with their families and work on the farm or nearby. In India, currently there are 64 open jails, out of which Rajasthan has the highest number of 29 open jails followed by Maharashtra (13), Kerala, Tamil Nadu & West Bengal (3 each) and Gujarat (2). Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana and Uttarakhand have one open jail each. The other States and UTs do not have any Open Jail.
As per 2017 statistics, a total of 3,334 inmates were lodged in various open jails against the total capacity of 5,421 inmates. In other types of jails, which numbers around 1,297 have occupancy of 4,47,362 against inmate capacity of 3,86,153. This shows that against the overcrowding of other jails, open prisons are underutilized. In December 2017, the Supreme Court asked states to establish an open prison in each district based on a 2017 report that detailed the success of Rajasthan’s open jail system.
Prisoners’ reforms is a modern concept. In ancient and middle ages, the recognized modes of punishment were death sentence, hanging, whipping, flogging, or starving to death. Prisons were considered to be places of torture. Treatment of prisoners was inhumane. Prison reforms in India began from the British era. They made efforts for the reformation of prisons and prisoners and introduced changes in the existing system. Subsequently, the Prison Act, 1894 was enacted with emphasis on safe custody of prisoners and undertrials as well as their reformation and rehabilitation in society. The Model Prison Manual 2016 outlines the roadmap for undertaking reform endeavours and rehabilitation of prisoners.
Taking forward the directives for reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners, Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai as part of “Gala Bhet” initiative allows children under 16 years of age to visit their parents and spend time without having a glass or wall separating them in a bid to keep the parent-children bonding alive. The Poojapura Central Jail in Thiruvananthapuram is offering many self-employment training programmes to the inmates. In a unique venture, thirty inmates of Central Prison, Kannur opened a beauty parlour exclusively for men after undergoing extensive training. The inmates of Delhi’s Tihar Jail run a small automotive manufacturing unit, which provides them with necessary training to acquire future employment opportunities. Moreover, skill development initiative under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana has also been taken up with provision for financial assistance under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana to enable inmates to launch small business after the jail term expires.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Crime is an outcome of the diseased minds and jail must have an environment of hospital for treatment and care”. It is obvious that no society can be free of crimes. However, crime rate can substantially be reduced when prisons focus more on reform or corrective measures. In many States, including Assam, steps are afoot to tap the potentiality of prisoners through joint efforts of government agencies, NGOs and civil society. However, this journey has a long way to go. Prisoners’ reform is a call of the hour and it needs more focused approach from the jail authorities. Every conscientious citizen also must take active part in such initiatives in greater public interest.