tribune news service
Saurab Malik
Chandigarh, 21st January
More than 54% of the 660 prisoners interviewed during the course of the investigation in 24 prisons in Punjab claimed violence while in police custody. At least 12 percent of all prisoners interviewed also complained of violence in prison custody. Smuggling cases were filed by inmates in 15 of the 24 prisons. Corruption was alleged by inmates in his 12 prisons.
An in-depth report, Inside Punjab Prisons, released today, says 75% of prisons across Punjab are overcrowded. In fact, the phenomenon has been witnessed in 18 prisons, from 10 in 2019 to 18 in December 2022. A report on prison conditions in the state by the Punjab Law Department, prepared in partnership with the Federal Human Rights Initiative, also found that approximately 42.1% of the prison population had been prosecuted or convicted under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Act. He also states that he was a prisoner of war.
The report adds that 10 prisons are in dire need of renovation or reconstruction, with 25% of staff vacant. Sixteen prisons did not have licensed educational staff posts and 17 prisons did not have licensed welfare staff posts. Female officers were not recruited for senior positions. Of the 103 officers, she was the only three women.
Only one prison had a “visitors’ committee,” a statutory body to oversee the prison. However, in-trial review boards, which were required to periodically review inmates’ cases, functioned in all prisons.
The report further states that no admission medical examination was conducted in five sub-prisons. Appropriate action has been taken by the district legal services authority. Issues of corruption, accessibility, and lack of privacy during family visits were uncovered, and problems related to payment of wages were reported in 22 prisons.
The factory and manufacturing departments throughout the prison were underfunded. Female prisoners had limited access to vocational training, prison legal aid clinics, hospitals, recreation, places of worship, libraries, and menstrual hygiene products. There were also complaints about caste-based discrimination.
The report was presented by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice of the Supreme Court and Chairman of the Executive Committee of NALSA, and Justice Sanjiv Khanna. Judge Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, was also present.
It was finalized under the Chief Justice of the High Courts of Punjab and Haryana, Judge Ravi Shankar Ja, and Judge Tejinder Singh Dintha, Executive Chairman of Punjab Legal Affairs Department. District and session and member secretary Arun Gupta “played a key role” in reviewing and finalizing this report prepared by Arijeet Ghosh and Sabika Abbas. Edited by Madhurima Danuka, Federal Human Rights Initiative.
