Editorial: Time for prison reforms
President Draupadi Murmu’s recent call to the government and the judiciary to address the issue of overcrowding of prisons is a welcome intervention
In an ideal world, a prosperous and progressive society will no longer need to build new prisons. Instead, it should be closing down the old ones. However, Indian jails are becoming increasingly overcrowded, creating problems of hygiene, sanitation, management and discipline. The cramped conditions in jails militate against prisoners’ right to good health and dignity. President Draupadi Murmu’s recent call to the government and the judiciary to address the issue of overcrowding of prisons is a welcome intervention. This needs serious consideration as part of the broader idea of prison reforms. According to Prison Statistics India 2021, a report published by the Ministry of Home Affairs, between 2016 and 2021, the number of convicts in jails decreased by 9.5% whereas the number of undertrial inmates increased by 45.8%. It clearly indicates a deeper problem with the country’s justice system. With three out of four prisoners being undertrials, the problem of overcrowding of prisons essentially boils down to how the undertrials are treated. As of December 31, 2021, around 80% of prisoners were confined for periods up to a year. The report states that an overwhelming 95% of undertrials released in 2021 were granted bail by courts while a mere 1.6% were released on acquittal by court. Unfortunately, a majority of undertrials, languishing in jails for years, are so poor that they cannot afford to seek bail. The sub-human conditions in several prisons across the country often drive many undertrials to commit suicide. About 1,000 prisoners die in custody every year, with 90% of them being undertrials.
Building more prisons is obviously not the solution. The Supreme Court recently asked the government to think ‘out of the box’ and consider a one-time measure to release prisoners in certain cases on the occasion of the 75th year of Independence. The key solution lies in tackling the cause, which is the indiscriminate arrest of individuals. Identifying those who cannot afford bail, even when available, is also crucial. Lawmakers too must urgently respond to this crisis. The abysmally low rate of conviction in criminal cases appears to weigh on the mind of the magistrates while dealing with bail applications and in most cases, the bail pleas are rejected. It must, however, be pointed out that bail is a fundamental aspect of any criminal justice system and the practice of bail grew out of the need to safeguard the fundamental right to liberty. In fact, bail is a rule and jail is an exception. The apex court had rightly pointed out that the culture of too many arrests, especially for non-cognisable offences, is unwarranted and emphasised that even for cognisable offences, arrest should not be mandatory. In a country where inordinate delays in the justice delivery system force undertrials to languish in jails for years, the urgency of reforms need not be overemphasised.
