Re-Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons vs .

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

25 September 2018

Case No.

Writ Petition (Civil) No.406 of 2013

Bench

Madan B. Lokur, S. Abdul Nazeer, Deepak Gupta

Citation

[2018] 12 S.C.R. 78 : 2017 INSC 955

Headnote

Public Interest Litigation – Prison Reforms – Dire necessity of reforms in prison administration and prison management – Held: Union Government directed to issue a notification constituting a Supreme Court Committee on prison reforms consisting of: (i) One former Judge of the Supreme Court as its Chair; (ii) Inspector General of Police, Bureau of Police Research and Development as its member; (iii) Director General (Prisons) Tihar Jail, New Delhi as its member – The Committee directed to give its recommendations on the following issues as its terms of reference: 1) Review the implementation of the Guidelines contained in the Model Prison Manual, 2016 by States and Union Territories (UT’s); 2) Review the implementation by the States and UTs of the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women in its report tabled in the Parliament titled ‘Women in Detention and Access to Justice,’ and the advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in this regard; 3) To review the two training manuals for prison personnel prepared by Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D), ‘Training Manual of Basic Course for Prison Officers 2017’ and ‘Training Manual of Basic Course for Prison Warders 2017’ and forwarded to States and UTs; 4) Review the recommendations made in the report of the Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the National Commission for Women and the National Law University Delhi on ‘Women in Prisons’; 5) Review the recommendations made in the report of the National Commission for Women on ‘Inspection of Prisons/Jails/ Custodial Homes housing Women’; 6) Review the implementation by States and UTs of the Guidelines contained in ‘Living conditions in Institutions for Children in Conflict with Law’ prepared by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and the Model Rules and Procedures prepared by the MWCD under the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016; 7) Review the status of the implementation of the guidelines and advisories issued by MHA to the States and UTs; 8) The Committee may give its consolidated recommendations based on the above and suggest measures to improve the implementation of the aforementioned guidelines and advisories, subject to budgetary resources available with the States and the UTs; 9) To examine the extent of overcrowding in prisons and correctional homes and recommend remedial measures, including an examination of the functioning of Under Trial Review Committees, availability of legal aid and advice, grant of remission, parole and furlough; 10) To examine violence in prisons and correctional homes and recommend measures to prevent unnatural deaths and assess the availability of medical facilities in prisons and correctional homes and make recommendations in this regard; 11) To assess the availability and inadequacy of staff in prisons and correctional homes and recommend remedial measures; 12) To suggest training and educational modules for the staff in prisons and correctional homes with a view to implement the suggestions; 13) To assess the feasibility of establishing Open Prisons, the possibility of and the potential for establishing Open Prisons in different parts of the country and give effect to the recommendations; 14) To recommend steps for the psycho-social well-being of minor children of women prisoners, including their education and health; 15) To examine and recommend measures for the health, education, development of skills, rehabilitation and social reintegration of children in Observation Homes, Places of Safety and Special Homes established under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; 16) Generally, any other recommendation that the Committee may deem appropriate, fit and proper in furtherance of reforms in prisons and correctional homes; 17) The Committee while giving its suggestions and recommendations may also suggest changes or amendments to various guidelines contained in the Modern Prison Manual, 2016 and also various directives issued by the Government of India – The Committee was further directed to devise its own procedure and formulate modalities necessary for accomplishing the task and to call for information from all the State Governments, UT Administrations and the Ministries/Departments of the Central Government as it considered necessary – All authorities of the State Governments and Union Territories directed to extend full cooperation with Committee – Matter to be listed for further orders after submission of the final report by the Committee – Constitution of India – Arts.21 and 32 – Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 – Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016.

The Order of the Court was passed by MADAN B. LOKUR, J. 1. Over the years, public interest litigation has brought immense social change through interventions made and directions issued by this Court. Public interest litigation has been initiated, very rarely, by suo motu1 exercise of jurisdiction by this Court. On most occasions, it has been initiated through a writ petition filed by activist individuals or organisations2. Again, quite infrequently, it has been initiated on the basis of a communication received by this Court3. 2. During the last several decades, public interest litigation ha

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