The Rights and Realities of Prisoners in Contemporary India

by Author

Edited and Published by Jeet Sinha.

What are Human Rights?

Prior to discussing the subject of prisoners’ human rights, it is essential to have a basic understanding of what human rights are and how they work. Human rights are fundamentally defined as those freedoms that must be enjoyed by every person without exception, so it is possible to say that their primary goal is to ensure that no one is denied those freedoms because of prejudice against their caste, religion, race, nationality, or other characteristics and is also a requisite for the complete development of the country.[1]

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was published in 1948, defines the phrase “human rights” as “rights deriving from the inherent dignity of the human being.” The term “human rights” is also defined in India by the Protection of Human Rights Act, of 1993, which states that human rights are the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by Courts in India. In India especially, Part III of the Indian Constitution deals with citizens’ fundamental rights and states that all people are born free and equal in rights. Human rights have been secured and safeguarded by several national and international institutions.

Who are the Prisoners?

A person who is denied their freedom against their will is said to be a prisoner. This might happen through imprisonment, captivity, or restriction.[2] Prisoners are those who have been formally placed behind bars as a result of a crime they have committed or while they are awaiting trial. Any individual who is detained in a jail or prison because they have broken a law of the land is referred to as a prisoner.

The Prisons Act of 1894 did not define the term “prisoner,” but the real Act divided convicts into two types, Criminal Prisoners and Civil Prisoners. Any prisoner who has been properly committed to care according to a writ, warrant, request, or order of any Court or authority exercising criminal jurisdiction, or at the request of a Court-military, is referred to as a “Criminal Prisoner.” Additionally, “Civil Prisoner” refers to any prisoner who is unquestionably not a criminal prisoner. [3]

Prisoners and the Human Rights

Since several limitations have been placed on their enjoyment, the Fundamental Rights granted by the Indian Constitution are not unqualified. One of the most important fundamental rights that must be enjoyed by everyone is the Right to freedom. As we all know that a convicted person who is in prison has a different status and cannot assert all of the basic rights that a regular person may have.

However, the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts in India have discussed the sphere of prisoner’s rights in various decisions. In Charles Shobraj v. Superintendent,[4] the court declared “prisoners are also human beings, like you and me.” Therefore, all of these rights including those pertaining to the protection of fundamental human dignity and those for the prisoner’s growth into a better human being remain with the prisoner, with the exception of those that are taken away during the legal process of incarceration.

In recent years, the Indian judiciary has been highly watchful for violations of inmates’ human rights. According to Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, “No individual shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty unless in accordance with the procedure established by law.” The judiciary system through its constructive approach and activism has maintained to continuously support human rights and has also functioned as an institution for providing remedies for its violation.

The Indian Supreme Court has stated in cases involving Maneka Gandhi[5], Sunil Batra(I)[6], M.H. Hoskot[7], and Hussainara Khatoon[8] that part III of the Indian Constitution should be interpreted broadly and has also mentioned numerous implied rights, including the right to legal aid, a speedy trial, the right to an interview with friends, relatives, and attorneys, the right to live with dignity, etc. As a result, the Supreme Court has greatly expanded the application and character of Article 21 and said that convicts would also have access to it, with the explicit exception taken away from the established procedure of law. [9]

Current state of Prisoners in India

If we go with the theoretical concept then the punishment provided for a particular offence should be commensurate to the harm that would probably result from the conduct of the perpetrator. However, in a perfect world, the specification of punishment in reformatory law includes quantification and scaling of both the damages, the harm conceivably resulting from the disallowed human conduct such as crime and the harm to be dispensed on the wilful culprit, by the legislature.

To the extent the present status of prisoners in India is concerned—it’s abominable.[10] The practice of torture has become the most predominant and widespread practice since time immemorial and now is legitimate and normal all over the country. For the sake of investigating crimes, separating confessions and rebuffing people by the law requirement offices, torture is dispensed upon the denounced as well as on bona fide petitioners, complainants or informants adding up to cruel, inhuman, primitive and corrupting treatment, horribly disdainful to the individual dignity of the human person. Women are also subjected to this practice, which includes rape, molestation, and other forms of sexual abuse, in addition to male convicts.

In the case of Joginder Kumar v State of UP and Ors.,[11] the apex Court of India has held “the quality of a nation’s civilization can be measured by the methods it uses in the enforcement of criminal law”. The Supreme Court addressed the rights of inmates in Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, another well-known case in which it addressed the issue of whether or not prisoners are people and if they are entitled to basic rights while in detention. The court stated “Yes, the prisoners are persons, and fundamental rights do not run off the person as he enters the prison or is convicted.[12]

Rights of Prisoners in India

It is untoward that a civilized country just like India has not codified the rights of prisoners. Nonetheless, it can’t be rejected that the Hon’ble judiciary has not failed to remember them and perceived a not insignificant list of rights of prisoners and all authorities need to follow these directions in the absence of legislation. In the practical situation, these rights are barely followed by any prison authorities. It has been appropriately observed by V.R. Krishna Iyer (J) that “In our reality prisons are still laboratories of torture, warehouses in which human commodities are sadistically kept and where spectrums of inmates range from flotsam juveniles to brave dissenters.”[13]

“Karuna is a component of Jail Justice and fundamental jail decency is the facet of criminal justice” observed Justice Krishna Iyer. In accordance with Section 56 of the Prisons Act of 1894, which allows the Superintendent to take necessary safeguards by placing the convicts in irons, he outlined rules for how the police authorities may exercise their authority. In this way, the court’s decision conceptualised ideas about the need for prisoner tranquilly and freedom.

It has been recognized through many prominent precedents that conviction for a crime of a person does not make a person into a non-person because of which his all-fundamental rights should be removed rather he must be entitled to all except those that are explicitly removed by the established procedure of law. It’s the duty of the court to ensure the freedom of the prisoners from torture when they are in detention and work on the words of William Black that “Prisons are built with stones of Law”,[14] therefore, when human rights are hassled behind the bars, constitutional justice approaches to maintain the law.

Statutory provision granting Prisoners Rights

As such no specifications have been done for the prisoner’s rights under the constitution of India. However, certain rights have been itemized in Part III of the Indian Constitution which is available to convicted persons as prisoners are also persons whether they are in custody or not.

In the case of T.V.Vatheeswaran v. State of Tamil Nadu,[15] the court held that Articles 14, 19 and 21 are also available to prisoners like ordinary men. It’s not like the prison barrier keeps out the fundamental rights and does not let them be followed by the prisoners. While interpreting Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, the Apex Court of India has developed human rights jurisprudence for the protection of prisoners’ rights. Hence, the prisoners are entitled to all constitutional rights unless they are curtailed constitutionally.

Article 14, which is considered one of the most important provisions of the Indian Constitution in which the principle of equality is incorporated says that like should be treated alike and reasonable classification should be there among the people. These concepts have worked as a guide for the courts to determine the category of prisoners and their basis of classification in different categories.

Another important provision i.e., Article 19 of the Indian Constitution guarantees six freedoms to the citizens of our country. Among these certain freedoms cannot be enjoyed by the prisoners such as ‘freedom of movement’, ‘freedom to reside and to settle’ and freedom of profession, occupation, trade or business” because of their conflicting nature with the prison and these are only available to freemen.

The right to life and liberty is guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. After the Maneka Gandhi case[16], the idea of a fair and reasonable process for taking away someone’s life or freedom has been developed and also the scope of Article 21 was widened in terms of interpretation.

At the point when we follow the beginning of the prisoner’s rights in India, the origin we can discover in the praised decision of A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras,[17] one of the main arguments put forth by the petitioner was that the term “procedure established by law” as it appears in article 21 of the Constitution refers to a “fair and reasonable” procedure, not just a flimsy imitation of a procedure set forth by the State to deny people’s rights to life or personal liberty.

Another imperative verdict was the State of Maharashtra v. Prabhakar Pandurang,[18] where the court held that prisoners should not be deprived of their fundamental rights under the conditions of detention.

In D. B. M. Patnaik v. State of Andhra Pradesh,[19] the Supreme Court unequivocally affirmed that prisoners are not deprived of all of their fundamental rights by the straightforward explanation of their detention, and J. Chandrachud has made the case that the security of one’s person against arbitrary police intrusion is essential to a free society and that inmates cannot be abandoned helpless before police officers as though it were anything other than a part of an unwritten law of crimes. Such disruptions go against an orderly liberty plan’s genuine ethos.

Numerous rights for prisoners are implicitly guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, including the following:

Right to Legal Aid – the Supreme Court recognised that in accordance with Articles 21 and 39-A read with Article 142 and Section 304 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the government must offer the accused parties free legal representation.[20]
Right of Expression and publication – under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, the court ruled that the petitioners may publish anything they claim to be Auto Shankar’s autobiography even without permission if it can be seen in the public archives and that the publication cannot be restricted by the authorities.[21]
Right to a speedy trial – under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, it is the fundamental right of the accused to get a speedy trial procedure and section 309 of Cr. P.C. also showcase the essence of speedy inquiries and trials, it states that if cognizance has been taken by the court of the allegations, then the trial must be carried out quickly so that the differentiation should be made between the innocent and the guilty. It is impertinent to mention that if there will be a delay in trial then it will constitute a denial of justice as “Justice delayed is Justice denied”.[22]
The freedom to see friends and seek legal counsel – prisoners have the right to meet their friends or family members under guarded conditions as their presence is not just a simple existence of animal but more than merely physical existence.
Right to reasonable wages in prison – for prisoners’ reformation they are provided with some sort of work in the prison and for the same they must be offered in a reasonable manner and not below the minimum wages else it would be termed as forced labour under article 23 of the Constitution of India.[23]
The Right to live with human dignity– this has also been stated under Article 21 of the Constitution. The right to life, according to the court, is more than just being physically alive. It also means being able to live with dignity. In Francis Coralie v. Delhi Administration,[24] the court expanded on the aforementioned idea by holding that the word “life” includes everything that goes along with it, namely the bare necessities of life, such as adequate nutrition and food, clothing and shelter over one’s head, facilities for reading and writing (education), ability and opportunity of expressing oneself in diverse forms, ability and opportunity to move freely, mixing and mingling with fellow human beings.
The Right to education – under Article 21A of the Constitution, the right to education is a fundamental right which must be provided to every citizen of the country whether a convict or freeman.
Health and medical care as a human right – The highest court in the land has ruled in a number of cases[25] that the right to health care is an essential component of Article 21. The State is required by Article 21 of the Constitution to protect a person’s life.
The right to obtain books and magazines – The court heard the case of George Fernandes v. State,[26] in which the superintendent of the Nagpur Central Jail set a limit of 12 books that would be available to detainees. He did not have the authority to make such choices, but as superintendent, he might ban a book by describing it as “unsuitable.” According to the 1951 Bombay Conditions of Detention Order, this was declared.

International protection of Prisoner’s Right

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states in Article 1 that all people are born free and equal in rights, is one of the many international documents that address the rights and treatment of prisoners. A person’s intrinsic right to life must be protected by law under Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which also stipulates that no one should be subjected to torture or cruel, barbaric, or degrading treatment.

There are various laws governing the rights and care of prisoners in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, including ones that deal with prisoner housing, clothes and bedding, food, and many more.

According to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which states that “any location under its jurisdiction where individuals are deprived of their liberty by a public authority,” the Committee is allowed to visit any site of detention and all prisoners must be treated with respect for their inherent dignity and value as human beings, according to the United Nations Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, which were approved by the General Assembly on December 14, 1990.

Conclusion

It does not follow that those who break the law have no rights since every civilization has a legal system in place to keep them out of society. After being imprisoned, prisoners continue to be human beings. In order to prevent the inmates from becoming victims themselves, the Indian Courts have repeated the same idea several times. In order to prevent abuse by the dominant authority within the jail, it is important for the Central and State governments to not only provide the convicts with living conditions but also legal education.

It very well may be said that the judiciary of the nation has played a vital part in defending the rights of prisoners at whatever point the legislative and executive have blundered. It has gone about as the deliverer of the convicts and maintained their fundamental rights again and again. Prisoners retain their humanity even after being locked up. In order to prevent inmates from becoming victims themselves, the Supreme Court of India and several other courts have reaffirmed this view in numerous cases. They are given a suitable rehabilitation environment to aid in their improvement and development as better human beings.

Although we can see that through judicial activism and approach many fundamental rights have been recognized to the prisoners but still much to be done for their protection, still, we can that the prisoners who are financially stable dominate and torture other prisoners who are not well-financed, hence, this aspect of the prisoners should also be taken into consideration.

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[1] Ritesh Kumar, “Human Rights of Prisoners: International & National Perspectives” LDESIRE https://legaldesire.com/human-rights-prisoners-international-national-perspectives/ accessed on 4^th Jan 2023.

[2] Who Are Prisoners https://www.justiceandpeacebamenda.org/attachments/article/23/WHO+ARE+PRISONERS.pdf accessed on 4^th Jan 2023.

[3] Supra note 1.

[4] 1978 AIR 1514.

[5] AIR 1978 SC 597.

[6] (1978) 4 SCC 409.

[7] (1978) 3 SCC 544.

[8] 1980 SCC (1) 98.

[9] Nidhi Beniwal, “Role of Judiciary in Protecting the Rights of Prisoners” LSI http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1616/Role-of-Judiciary-in-Protecting-the-Rights-of-Prisoners.html accessed on 5^th Jan 2023.

[10] Aditi Singh, “Rights of Prisoners in India” LEXFORTI https://lexforti.com/legal-news/rights-of-prisoners-in-india/#Status_of_Prisoners_ia accessed on 4^th Jan 2023.

[11] 1994 SCC (4) 260.