Mukhtar Ahmad
Hate the crime not the criminal-MK Gandhi
ABSTRACT:
‘Personal Liberty’ given under Article 21 of the Constitution is a very wide concept and is still extending to include such phenomena which a human being wants for the enjoyment his/her life to the fullest. Convicts, prisoner, or under trials are not deprived their Fundamental Rights provided by the Constitution, exclusively Article 21 is the most important Fundamental Right. Therefore, it is a constitutional mandate upon State to ensure that there is no infringement of the indefeasible rights of a citizen to life, while the citizen is under custody. The judiciary in this regard provided various obligations on the state and state instrumentalities to rehabilitate and reshape the offender.
INTRODUCTION
All men are born equal and endowed some inherit rights by the Creator, primarily right to life and liberty. Men are supposed to live in the society according to societal norms and values. If anyone from the society commits any harms towards individual, group, society or State. They were considered as criminals and likely to get punishment for the harm they caused. However, their right to life and personal liberty cannot be deprived except following the procedure established by the Law. Everyone is equal before law so criminals or we can term prisoner, some of their inherited rights cannot be deprived. Thus purpose of punishment is to reform reshape the offender so guilt might be ceased and person may live happily in the society thereafter.
STATICS
The ministry of home affairs released the Prison Statistics India (PSI) 2018 report. The report revealed that 1,845 inmates died in custody in 2018, the highest in Indian prisons in the last 20 years.1
The Justice Amitava Roy (retd.) Committee concluded that most prisons are “teeming with undertrial prisoners”, whose numbers are highly disproportionate to those of convicts.2
CHALLENGES
Rama Murthy v state of Karnataka,3 it was observed by the Court that prisoners are facing some major problems in the prisons. They are: (1) overcrowding, (2) delay in trial, (3) torture and ill-treatment, (4) neglect of health and hygiene, (5) insubstantial food and inadequate clothing, (6) prison vices, (7) deficiency in communication, (8) streamlining of Jail visits, and (9) management of open air prisons.
RIGHTS AND REFORMS
Right to have dignified life
Maneka Gandhi v Union of India,4 the case is considered as leading case on right to have dignified life and not a mere existence of human, such vested right must be interpreted in a widest sense so that a prisoner being a human could be able to enjoy a dignified life, because there is no such law which can abridge a persona’s liberty, while denying liberty the law must be reasonable and just. Dignified life means to have a basic minimum standard of living. In case of a prisoner it can be interpreted as basic needs of life shall be provided by the correctional home officials and government, namely, health care, healthy food, minimum wages, healthy environment, medical checkup, and more so that a prisoner cannot be psychologically traumatize by the situation of his worse kind.
Speedy trial and free legal aid
Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar,5 Bhagwati, J. said about overcrowding that shortcomings in the administration of justice were responsible for the outrage. The absence of right to speedy trial and free legal aid to poor had led to this colossal injustice. Thus, the Court recognized Right to speedy trial and Right to free legal aid. Speedy trial is the essence of criminal justice, therefore, delay in trial itself constitutes denial of justice.6
Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration,7 handcuffing of prisoners is an ill-treatment and inhuman, therefore is unreasonable act.
CONJUGAL VISITATION FOR PRISONER- A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
‘The United Nation Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners’ adopted by UN General Assembly, wherein the Rule 58(2) states “where conjugal visits are allowed, this right shall be applied without discrimination, and women prisoners shall be able to exercise this right on an equal basis with men. Procedures shall be in place and premise shall be made available to ensure fair and equal access with due regard to safety and dignity”. India being a signatory to the rule is bound to apply the content of the rules in true spirit. Delhi High Court in this regard relied upon the right to privacy, and allowed conjugal visit for prisoners.8
CUSTOODIAL RAPE
Gurmit Singh v. State of Punjab,9 the Supreme Court condemns rape and rapist. It observed that offence of rape not only violates victim’s privacy and personal integrity but also causes serious psychological and physical harm in the process.
It needs no emphasis to say that when the crime goes unpunished, the criminals are encouraged and the society suffers.
CUSTODIAL DEATH
The Supreme Court expressed its worries and serious concerns towards torture and deaths in police custody in several cases. Bhagwan Singh v. State of Punjab,10 it may be the legitimate right of any police office to interrogate or arrest any suspect on some credible material but it is needless to say that such an arrest may be in accordance with the law and the interrogation does not mean inflicting injuries.
Sadasivan Mohan Chandran v. State of Kerala,11 due to police atrocities accused died.The court not only criticized this brutal act but also held the conviction of the police officials under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.
JUVENILE HOME
A minor prisoner must be given due care to rehabilitation and reorganization of his social being. So that he can enjoy his after-life from prison fully in a society.
PROVISIONS
Article 14 (3)12 guarantees to everyone: “the right to be tried, to defend, to be informed, to have legal assistance.”
Article 38 (1)13: It says that the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic or political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.
Article 39-A14: It directs the State to ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity and shall provide free legal aid to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.
Article 2115: Right to free legal aid or free legal service is an essential fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. It forms the basis of reasonable and just liberty under Article 21.
CONCLUSION
Indian correctional homes are overcrowding day to day due to delay in trial and not getting adequate legal aid so that they will be able to be presented in a court of law with knowledge of law and consequences of their act. A lay man is not such a person who is able to discover scenario of legal aspect of his act of offence and remedies provided by the statutes and the Constitution, so that he can recourse. Indian judiciary by way of judicial activism made some mandatory obligations upon the correctional home wing of the Government in order to realize and observe prisoner’s rights and their welfare.
REFERENCES
3. Rama Murthy v state of Karnataka, AIR 1997 SC 1739
4. Maneka Gandhi v Union of India, 1978 AIR 597, 1978 SCR (2) 621
5. Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar, AIR 1979 SC 1360.
6. AIR 1979 SC 1360.
7. Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, AIR 1978 SC 1675.
9. Gurmit Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1996 SC 1393.
10. Bhagwan Singh v. State of Punjab, (1992) 3 SCC 249.
11. Sadasivan Mohan Chandran v. State of Kerala, AIR 1994 SC 565.
12.Constitution of Inida. 1951
13. ibid
14. ibid
15. ibid
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