Time to decongest our prisons

Time to decongest our prisons

The overcrowding of prisons in the country is a long-standing problem that is seldom addressed effectively. Even though the Supreme Court has, from time to time, raised the issue of prison reforms (सुधार) in general, and that of overcrowding in particular, measures to decongest (भीड़ कम) jails have been sporadic (विकीर्ण) and half-hearted. The issue is once again in the news, with the Supreme Court bemoaning (दुख प्रकट करना) that prisons in Delhi and nine States have an occupancy rate of 150 per cent of their capacity. The average occupancy in all jails in the country was 117.4 per cent, as of December 31, 2014. What makes the picture bleaker (बेरंग) is that there is little change even though the court has passed a series of interim orders to the States on measures to decongest prisons. In particular, the court had on February 5 and May 6 this year spelt out steps that the authorities should take to reduce prison occupancy. Cramped (तंग) conditions in prison militate (विरोध करना) against the prisoner’s right to good health and dignity. Further, as pointed out by the amicus curiae (न्यायमित्र) in this case, an excessive prison population creates problems of hygiene, sanitation, management and discipline. Of equal concern are the available staff strength and the level of training they receive.

It is unedifying (अनैतिकता को प्रश्रय देने वाला) to note that not one State or Union Territory has bothered (तंग करना/परेशान करना) to prepare a plan of action, as directed by the court five months ago, to reduce crowding and to augment (बढ़ाना/वृद्धि करना) infrastructure so that more space is available to each prisoner. The court received some information about proposals for constructing additional jails, but has found that these are only ad hoc proposals, with no indication of either a time frame or the resources provided for building these facilities. The court’s sense of disquiet is understandable, as many States seem to ignore the obvious mismatch between the extent (सीमा) to which they keep the law and order machinery active and the space and resources provided for those jailed under such action. Last year, it was found that a little over two-thirds of India’s prisoners were under trials. Poverty remains the main reason for this, as most prisoners are unable to execute bail bonds or provide sureties. Since 2014, there is some effort to invoke Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which under trials who have completed half of the maximum jail term specified for their offences (अपराधों) may be released on personal bonds. But much more needs to be done. Failing to address the problem of crowded jails may prove costly for the administration of criminal justice.