Jails/ Prisons: India - Revision history

Jyoti: /* Foreign prisoners */

2025-11-01T05:02:43Z

‎Foreign prisoners

Jyoti: /* Prison manual, rules practices */

2025-11-01T04:55:40Z

‎Prison manual, rules practices

Jyoti: /* Open jails */

2025-11-01T04:52:45Z

‎Open jails

Jyoti: /* Death row */

2025-10-18T08:34:46Z

‎Death row

Pdewan: /* Undertrials */

2025-09-11T21:02:48Z

‎Undertrials

Pdewan: /* See also */

2025-09-09T09:34:25Z

‎See also

Jyoti: /* Facilities */

2025-07-16T09:04:59Z

‎Facilities

Jyoti: /* The administration of jails */

2025-01-15T20:06:50Z

‎The administration of jails

Jyoti: /* Economics and jailhouse economy */

2025-01-02T04:53:40Z

‎Economics and jailhouse economy

Pdewan: /* 2018: video calling facility */

2024-09-29T17:45:04Z

‎2018: video calling facility

@@ Line 407: / Line 407: @@
 Prison officials have so far visited jails in Amritsar, Delhi and Patiala, and met inmates from Kenya and other African countries.
-[[Category:Crime|J
+==2023==
 JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
-[[Category:India|J
+[[Category:India|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
 JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
-[[Category:Law,Constitution,Judiciary|J
+[[Category:Law,Constitution,Judiciary|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
 JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:55, 1 November 2025
Line 725:		Line 725:

	“While the prescription in the prison manual is to ensure one toilet and one bathing cubicle for every 10 prisoners, this is rarely seen on the ground. There are usually a small number of bathrooms and toilets catering to a disproportionately large prison population. The National Prison Manual further estimates the daily need of water at 135 litres per inmate. In reality, there is a lack of sufficient water, which exacerbates the low levels of sanitation and hygiene. There have been reports of prisoners not being able to take a bath for multiple days,” it is stated.		“While the prescription in the prison manual is to ensure one toilet and one bathing cubicle for every 10 prisoners, this is rarely seen on the ground. There are usually a small number of bathrooms and toilets catering to a disproportionately large prison population. The National Prison Manual further estimates the daily need of water at 135 litres per inmate. In reality, there is a lack of sufficient water, which exacerbates the low levels of sanitation and hygiene. There have been reports of prisoners not being able to take a bath for multiple days,” it is stated.
		+
		+	=Prison sales=
		+	==2023==
		+	[[File: Prison sales in India, state-wise, 2023.jpg\| Prison sales in India, state-wise, 2023 <br/> From: [https://epaper.indiatimes.com/article-share?article=05_10_2025_010_020_cap_TOI Oct 5, 2025: ''The Times of India'']\|frame\|500px]]
		+
		+	'''See graphic''':
		+
		+	'' Prison sales in India, state-wise, 2023 ''
		+
		+	[[Category:Crime\|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
		+	JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
		+	[[Category:India\|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
		+	JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
		+	[[Category:Law,Constitution,Judiciary\|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
		+	JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
		+	[[Category:Pages with broken file links\|JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
		+	JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]

	=Reforms=		=Reforms=

@@ Line 487: / Line 487: @@
 =Open jails=
 ==[[Sanganer]]==
 See [[Sanganer]]
@@ Line 508: / Line 516: @@
 JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
 [[Category:Pages with broken file links|JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
 JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]

@@ Line 265: / Line 265: @@
 It also asked the women and child development ministry to “discuss with concerned officers of the states and formulate procedures for tabulating number of children who suffer an unnatural death in child care institutions where they are kept in custody. Necessary steps should be taken by December 31“.
-=Death row =
+=Death row=
-== Uttarakhand HC ends solitary confinement/ 2018==
+==Uttarakhand HC ends solitary confinement/ 2018==
 [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F04%2F28&entity=Ar02701&sk=CF472668&mode=text  Vineet Upadhyay, Uttarakhand HC ends solitary confinement for death row inmates, April 28, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
@@ Line 277: / Line 277: @@
 The court said that the practice was in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution that guarantees protection of life and personal liberty, and Article 20 (2) which says that no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once. The bench held that isolating the convict was an “additional punishment” and amounts to “torture and violation of his basic human rights”.
 =Economics and jailhouse economy=

@@ Line 711: / Line 711: @@
 = Undertrials=
-[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=STATOISTICS-67-OF-PRISONERS-ARE-AWAITING-TRIAL-NOT-04112016008029    67% OF PRISONERS ARE AWAITING TRIAL, NOT SERVING A SENTENCE, Nov 04 2016 : The Times of India]
+See [[Jail inmates/ prisoners: India]]
-[[File: Jails more likely to have undertrials; How long undertrials are likely to be in prison, awaiting trial.jpg| i) Hierarchy of jails in India <br/>  ii) Jails more likely to have undertrials; <br/> iii) How long undertrials are likely to be in prison, awaiting trial. <br/> [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=STATOISTICS-67-OF-PRISONERS-ARE-AWAITING-TRIAL-NOT-04112016008029  ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+[[Category:Crime|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
-Despite various government initiatives such as releasing of certain undertrials who have completed more than half of the imprisonment that they would get if sentenced, criminals awaiting completion of trial constitute the bulk of the country's jail population. They are crammed in jail that are operating over capacity
+JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
+[[Category:India|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
-==2015: Undertrials in India==
+JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
-'''See graphic.''': ''Undertrials in India, some facts''
+[[Category:Law,Constitution,Judiciary|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
+JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA]]
-[[File: Undertrials in India, some facts.jpg|Undertrials in India, some information (facts as in 2015); [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=7-out-of-10-prisoners-in-India-are-06082017030005 The Times of India], August 6, 2017|frame|500px]]
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|JAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA
 =See also=

@@ Line 727: / Line 727: @@
 [[Jailbreak: India]]
-[[Jail inmates and the law: India]]
+[[Jail inmates/ prisoners and the law: India]]
 [[Jails/ Prisons: India]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:04, 16 July 2025
Line 318:		Line 318:

	Bhopal : Women prisoners in Madhya Pradesh will, for the first time, get hair removal cream once a month and shampoo once a week from New Year’s Day, reports. The aim is to help women prisoners maintain personal hygiene, say officials. Also, all prisoners will now get a salad with their meal, and there will be a small increase in their daily quota of tea, milk, oil and dal. These are among the new provisions in MP Correctional Services and Prisons Act 2024 that will come into force from Jan 1, 2025. Previously scheduled to come into effect on Oct 2, Gandhi Jayanti, it got delayed as certain mandatory things had been left out, said sources.Besides, Apart from health and hygiene, the focus is on tech upgrade and finding solutions to avoid overcrowding in jails. According to govt data, there are 43,000 prisoners in MP jails against a capacity of 36,000. One of the priority areas in the new laws is to “understand and change the psychology of a criminal” and to train staff accordingly.		Bhopal : Women prisoners in Madhya Pradesh will, for the first time, get hair removal cream once a month and shampoo once a week from New Year’s Day, reports. The aim is to help women prisoners maintain personal hygiene, say officials. Also, all prisoners will now get a salad with their meal, and there will be a small increase in their daily quota of tea, milk, oil and dal. These are among the new provisions in MP Correctional Services and Prisons Act 2024 that will come into force from Jan 1, 2025. Previously scheduled to come into effect on Oct 2, Gandhi Jayanti, it got delayed as certain mandatory things had been left out, said sources.Besides, Apart from health and hygiene, the focus is on tech upgrade and finding solutions to avoid overcrowding in jails. According to govt data, there are 43,000 prisoners in MP jails against a capacity of 36,000. One of the priority areas in the new laws is to “understand and change the psychology of a criminal” and to train staff accordingly.
		+
		+	=Food=
		+	==Religious preferences in the food served in prisons==
		+	[https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/court-rulings-religious-preferences-prison-food-10113631/ Sadaf Modak, July 8, 2025: ''The Indian Express'']
		+
		+
		+	A Mumbai special court last month issued a show-cause notice to the superintendent of the Mumbai Central Prison following a complaint by an undertrial prisoner about the food served. The prisoner alleged that the prison had failed to serve him Jain food despite a court directive and that he had subsisted on chappatis since May.
		+
		+	Jail manuals typically specify the type of food to be served in prison, down to the milligram. Here is what to know.
		+
		+	''' What is the case before the Mumbai court regarding serving Jain food to a prisoner? '''
		+
		+	In March 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Mumbai resident Riteshkumar S Shah in connection with its investigation into the misuse of bank accounts of Malegaon residents for money laundering.
		+
		+	He first approached the special court designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in May, stating that he is a follower of Jainism. Shah pleaded that as a lifelong follower of Jainism, he had followed a strict diet based on the religious requirements, and that the food served in jail did not meet his dietary preferences. The plea said that this was affecting his health and that he had lost substantial weight. The court allowed his plea on May 14, noting that as the ‘accused is a follower of Jainism’, he is ‘entitled to get diet accepted by Jain religion’. The court directed the superintendent to provide him with Jain food.
		+
		+	In June, the court issued a show cause notice to the prison after Shah approached the court a second time, claiming that the jail had not complied with this order and that he was only surviving on chapatis. The superintendent told the court that Shah was being provided dal and sabzi (vegetable gravy) without onion, garlic and potatoes, as is his religious requirement.
		+
		+	This week, Shah told the court that the jail had complied with the order for a few days, but had since stopped providing him with the requisite meals, following which the court again issued directions to the jail.
		+
		+	''' What are the rules about food for undertrials and convicts as per prison rules? '''
		+
		+	The Model Prison Manual issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs states that an average man requires 2,000 to 2,400 calories a day, while a person engaged in heavy labour requires a minimum of 2,800 calories. A woman, on the other hand, requires around 2,400 calories per day. The manual further specifies the nutrients required, including protein and vitamins. Since prisons are a state subject, the model manual states that the scale of the diet may be drawn based on the climatic conditions, as well as the needs and habits of prisoners in each state.
		+
		+	“Prisoners who observe religious fasts may receive extra articles of food, or may have the whole or a part of their meal at a place and time of the day, as may be allowed by orders of the government for proper observance of fasts from them,” the model manual says. The manual also prohibits the management of the kitchen and the cooking of food based on caste or religion in prisons.
		+
		+	Prison officials in Maharashtra told The Indian Express that if a prisoner informs them about a particular religious requirement food-wise, they will make arrangements wherever possible. For instance, during the month of Shravan, when many Hindus fast, fruits and sabudana-based food items are made available in the canteen. During the month of Ramzan, prison officials make arrangements for food to be served before sunrise to those fasting. There have been instances, however, when prisoners have approached courts seeking permission for home-cooked food, citing religious requirements.
		+
		+	''' How have courts ruled on providing prisoners with food according to their dietary choices? '''
		+
		+	There have been multiple judgments on the rights and constitutional safeguards available to prisoners who have their liberty curtailed, either as an undertrial facing charges or a convict, found guilty of having committed an offence. But prisoners are bound by strict rules part of the jail manuals, including when they wake up, mealtimes, when they can venture out of their barracks and when they must return to them. Choice in food is also therefore limited.
		+
		+	Apart from the meals served to them by the jail officials, either by prisoners themselves in some jail from a pre-decided menu, or by staffers, they are only free to buy what is available in the jail canteen. In 1958, the Allahabad High Court in Lakshmi Narain vs The State observed that ‘jails are not places where people can have their own choice of food or their own choice in other matters’. While some safeguards have been instituted since, such as regular checks on the quality of the food following frequent prisoner complaints of substandard quality, there is no uniform policy on serving food according to one’s religious practice. The prison administration decides the food served unless specific directions are given by the courts.
		+
		+	In 2017, the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that there should be a uniform policy on the two meals to be provided for prisoners fasting during Ramzan, following a petition on the subject. In 2022, then Aam Aadmi Party minister Satyendra Jain, arrested on charges of money laundering, claimed that he was not being given food according to his religious belief as a follower of Jainism. The special court had rejected his plea stating that ‘special treatment’ cannot be given to any person.

	[[Category:Crime\|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA		[[Category:Crime\|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:53, 2 January 2025
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	Revenue generation is not the sole objective of prison industries. “Our goal is to equip inmates with skills for reintegration into society,” said additional director general, prisons, Amitabh Gupta. Work also provides a sense of purpose to inmates facing the harsh reality of prolonged incarceration. Besides, inmates have the potential to earn reduced sentences for exceptional work or innovative projects.		Revenue generation is not the sole objective of prison industries. “Our goal is to equip inmates with skills for reintegration into society,” said additional director general, prisons, Amitabh Gupta. Work also provides a sense of purpose to inmates facing the harsh reality of prolonged incarceration. Besides, inmates have the potential to earn reduced sentences for exceptional work or innovative projects.
		+
		+	=Facilities=
		+	==MP: Hair removal cream, shampoo for women==
		+	[https://epaper.indiatimes.com/article-share?article=28_12_2024_009_005_cap_TOI Ankur Sirothia, Dec 28, 2024: ''The Times of India'']
		+
		+
		+	Bhopal : Women prisoners in Madhya Pradesh will, for the first time, get hair removal cream once a month and shampoo once a week from New Year’s Day, reports. The aim is to help women prisoners maintain personal hygiene, say officials. Also, all prisoners will now get a salad with their meal, and there will be a small increase in their daily quota of tea, milk, oil and dal. These are among the new provisions in MP Correctional Services and Prisons Act 2024 that will come into force from Jan 1, 2025. Previously scheduled to come into effect on Oct 2, Gandhi Jayanti, it got delayed as certain mandatory things had been left out, said sources.Besides, Apart from health and hygiene, the focus is on tech upgrade and finding solutions to avoid overcrowding in jails. According to govt data, there are 43,000 prisoners in MP jails against a capacity of 36,000. One of the priority areas in the new laws is to “understand and change the psychology of a criminal” and to train staff accordingly.

	[[Category:Crime\|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA		[[Category:Crime\|JJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIAJAILS/ PRISONS: INDIA

@@ Line 409: / Line 409: @@
 =Open jails=
 ==2018: video calling facility ==
 [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F10%2F08&entity=Ar01011&sk=F1F4392C&mode=text  In a first, Maha prison inmates to get facility of video calling, October 8, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
@@ Line 420: / Line 422: @@
 Through the video calling facility, prisoners can speak to their relatives or family members for five minutes on a given day on mobile phone numbers registered with the department, he said. The whole conversation is monitored by a police constable to ensure the video chat centres only around family issues , he said. Earlier, the department had installed coin box phones inside jails to enable inmates to speak to their family members.
 =Overcrowding=