NHRC notice to States on difficulties faced by prisoners

The issues have been brought to the NHRC notice by its Special Monitors and Rapporteurs through their reports after visiting various jails
| Photo Credit: V. Sudershan

Taking suo motu cognisance of various difficulties being faced by prisoners, including women inmates and their children in jails across the country, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued notice to the Chief Secretaries of all the States and union territories seeking replies on the issue.

The issues have been brought to the NHRC notice by its Special Monitors and Rapporteurs through their reports after visiting various jails, as well as the complaints. The commission says it is concerned over the lack of basic amenities and healthcare facilities in jails along with overcrowding in prisons.

The Union government’s response in the Lok Sabha in December last year stated that the latest published report on prisons in India compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as of the year 2022 says that against the total available capacity of 4,36,266 inmates, 5,73,220 prisoners were lodged in the jails of the country.

“Some of the other concerns raised in the report include violation of the rights to dignity and safety of the women prisoners, increased violence against them, causing mental distress, unhygienic conditions without adequate toilets, sanitary napkins, clean drinking water facilities, poor quality food, resulting in malnourishment, particularly among pregnant women and lactating mothers, lack of educational opportunities to the children of women prisoners living in jails with them, non-implementation of welfare programmes, including legal aid, vocational training and rehabilitation,” the commission said in its notice.

States have been asked to submit a detailed report within four weeks which should include the details of the number of women prisoners and their babies lodged in jails.

The NHRC has also asked for a segregate data on women and male undertrials languishing for more than a year in jails.