Whatar

eHumanRi
ght
s

Al
lhumanbeingsareborni
ndependent
,fr
eeandequal i
ndigni
tyandri
ghts.Theyar
eendowed
wi
threasonandconsci
enceandshouldactaccor
dingl
y,l
iv
ingi
nahi ghspir
itofl
oveand
br
other
hood.

Humanr ight
sar eri
ghtsinherentt
oal lhumanbeings,irrel
evanttoournat i
onali
ty,
placeof
resi
dence,sex,nati
onalorethnicori
gin,col
or,
reli
gion,language, oranyotherst
atus.Wear eall
equall
yentit
ledtoourhumanr i
ghtswithoutdi
scri
mi nationast heseright
sarefundament alt
o
usbecausewear ehuman.Theser ightsareal
lint
errelated,i
nterdependentandindivi
sibl
e.

Univer
salhumanrightsar eof t
enexpressedandguaranteedbylaw, i
nt heformsoft reati
es,
stat
utes,
customaryinter nati
onall
aw,generalpri
nci
plesandothersour cesofinter
nat i
onall
aw
forexample‘
TheUni versal Decl
arat
ionofHumanRi ghts’
.Int
ernati
onal humanr i
ghtslawl ay
s
downobligat
ionsofGov ernmentstoactincertai
nway sortorefr
ainfrom certai
nact s,i
norder
topromoteandprotecthumanr i
ght
sandf undamentalfr
eedomsofi ndi vi
dual
sorgr oups.

Non-discrimi
nati
onisasi ne-qua-
nonpr i
nci
pleinint
ernat
ional
humanrightsl
aw.Theprincipl
eis
presentinallt
hemaj orhumanr i
ghtstr
eati
esandpr ovi
desthecent
ralandpar
ti
cul
arthemeof
someoft hei
nternat
ionalhumanr ight
sconv ent
ionssuchastheConventi
onontheEl
imi nati
on
ofAllFormsofDi scr
iminationagainstWomen.

Thepri
ncipleappli
estoeveryonei nrel
ati
ont oallhumanr i
ght sandf r
eedomsandi tprohi
bit
s
di
scri
minationonthebasisofal istofnever-
endingcat egoriessuchassex, race,col
orandso
on.Theprinci
pleofnon-
discri
mi nati
oniscompl ement edbyt heprinci
pleofequal
ity[
1],
“Al
l
humanbeingsar ebornf
reeandequal indignit
yandr i
ght s.”Also,attheindi
vi
dual l
evel
,whil
e
weareentitl
edourhumanr ights,weshouldal sorespectt hehumanr ight
sofothers.

HumanRi
ght
sofPr
isoner
s:Wor
ldper
spect
ive

Thepri
nci
pleofuniver
sali
tyofhumanright
sisthecornerst
oneofinternat
ionalhumanr i
ght
s
l
aw.Thispri
nci
ple,asfi
rstemphasi
zedintheUniver
salDeclarat
ionofHumanRi ghtsin1948,
hasbeenrei
ter
atedinnumerousint
ernati
onalhumanrightsconvent
ions,declar
ations,and
r
esol
uti
ons.The1993Vi ennaWor l
dConferenceonHumanRi ghts,
forexample,not
edt
hati
tis
t
hedutyofStatestopromoteandpr ot
ectallhumanri
ghtsandfundamental
freedoms,
r
egar
dlessoftheirpol
i
tical
,economicandcultur
alsy
stems.

Whoar
ePr
isoner
s

“I
nourwor ldpri
sonsarest
il
ll
abor
atori
esoft
ort
ure,warehousesi
nwhi chhumancommodi
ti
es
aresadist
ical
lykeptandwher
espectr
umsofinmatesrangefrom dr
if
twoodjuveni
l
est
oher
oic
di
ssenters”

“
Convi
ctsar
enotbymerereasonoft
heconv
ict
iondenudedofal
lthef
undament
alr
ight
swhi
ch
t
heyot
herwi
sepossess.
”[
2].

Theword‘pr
isoner’meansanypersonwhoiskeptundercustodyinjai
lorpr
isonbecause
he/shecommitt
edanactpr ohi
bit
edbylawoftheland.Aprisoneral
soknownasani nmatei
s
anyonewho,againstt
heirwi
ll
,i
sdepriv
edofli
bert
y.Thisl
ibertycanbedepri
vedbyforcef
ul
rest
rai
norconfi
nement .

TheIndi
ansoci
o-l
egal
isbasedonnon-
viol
ence,mut
ual
respectandhumandigni
tyoft
he
i
ndivi
dual
.Bycommitt
ingacri
me,aper
sondoesnotchangefrom bei
nghumanandsti
lli
s
endowedwit
hallt
heaspectswhi
chdemandhi mtobet
reat
edwi t
hhumandignit
yandrespect
thatahumanbei
ngdeserves.

Humanr i
ghtsarenecessitatedbecauseofthereasonofhumanl i
fe.Bei
ngincivi
l
izedsoci
ety
organi
zedwithlawandasy stem assuch,
itisessenti
al t
oensureforeveryci
ti
zenareasonably
digni
fi
edli
fe[
3].Eveniftheper soni
sconfi
nedori mprisonedbecauseofhiswrong,heisent
itl
ed
tothei
rri
ghtsunaffect
edbyt hepuni
shmentforwr ongs,si
mplybecauseifapersonundertr
ial
oraconvict
,hisri
ghtscannotbedenuded.

“
Nooneshal
lbesubj
ectt
otor
tur
eorcr
uel
,i
nhumanordegr
adi
ngt
reat
mentofpuni
shment
”[
4]

Pr
isoner
shav
ebasi
clegal
right
sthatcan’
tbet
akenawayf
rom t
hem.Thesei
ncl
ude:
Ther
ightt
ofoodandwat
er.

Pr
otect
ionf
rom t
ort
ure,
viol
enceandr
aci
alhar
assment
.

Bei
ngabl
etogeti
ntouchwi
thanat
tor
neyt
odef
endhi
msel
f.

HumanRi
ght
sinI
ndi
a

Humanr ightsarethoserightst hatarefundament alt

othehumanl if
e.Humanr ight
sar eri
ghts
tocertainclaimsandf reedomsf orallhumanbei ngsall
overthewor l
d.Theseright
s,besides
beingfundament al anduniversal i
nchar act
er,assumedint
ernati
onaldimension.Theser i
ghts
ensuret omakemanf r
ee.Univ ersali
zati
onofRi ghtswit
houtanydisti
ncti
onofanyki ndisa
featur
eofhumanr i
ghts.Theser i
ghtsrecognizethebasichumanneedsanddemands.Ev ery
countryshoul densurehumanr ightstoitsciti
zens.TheHumanr i
ghtsshouldf i
nditsplaceinthe
Constituti
onofev erycountry.

Humanr i
ghtsi
nI ndiai
sani ssuecompl i
catedbyt hecountry’
slargesize,i
tstr
emendous
di
v ersi
ty,
itsst
atusasadev elopingcount r
yandasov erei
gn,secular
,democrati
crepubli
c.The
Const i
tut
ionofIndiaprov
idesf orFundament alr
ight
s, whi
chincludefreedom ofr
eli
gion.
Clausesalsoprov i
deforfr
eedom ofspeech, aswellasseparati
onofexecut i
veandjudici
aryand
fr
eedom ofmov ementwithinthecount r
yandabr oad.Thecount ryal
sohasani ndependent
j
udi ci
aryandwell asbodi
est olookintoissuesofhumanr i
ghts.

The2016r epor
tofHumanRi ghtsWat ch[
5]acceptst
heabove-ment
ionedf
acul
ti
esbutgoesto
stat
et hatI
ndi
ahas“seri
oushumanr i
ghtsconcerns”
.Ci
vi
lsociet
ygroupsf
aceharassmentand
governmentcri
ti
csfacei
ntimidati
onandl awsui
ts.Fr
eespeechhascomeunderattackbot
h
fr
om thestateandbyint
erestgroups.

Thepr oblem abouthumanri

ghtsvari
esfrom soci
et ytosoci
etyinIndi
a.Theent
it
lementofci
vil
,
poli
tical
,economic,andsoci
alri
ghtofindivi
dual
sv ari
esfrom countr
ytocount
ryaccor
dingto
thelawsgov erni
ngtheseri
ghtsofthecit
izensofthatcountry
.

Itisthedutyofeverynat
iontocreat
esuchl awsandcondi t
ionsthatprotectt
hebasicHuman
rightsofi
tscit
izens.I
ndi
abeingademocr aticcount
ryprovidessuchr i
ghtstoit
sciti
zensand
allowsthem cert
ainri
ghtsi
ncludi
ngthefreedom ofexpression.Theseri
ghts,whicharecal
led
‘
Fundament alRights’
for
m animportantpartoftheConstit
utionofIndi
a.
Theser i
ght saref undamentalinthr
eedi ff
erentway s,
fir
st,thesear ebasichumanr i
ght
sas
humanbei ngsandsecondl y ,
ourConst i
tuti
ongi v
esust hesef undament alri
ght
sandguar ant
ees
becauset heser ightsarenecessaryfortheciti
zensofourcount r
yt oactproperl
yandliveina
democr at
icmannerandt hi
rdly,t
heprocedur efortheeffecti
veenf orcementoftheseguarant
eed
Fundament alRightshasbeenment i
onedi ntheconstit
utionitsel
f.Ev er
yciti
zenofIndi
ahasthe
ri
ghttomov etoacour toflawifhe/sheisdeni edtheserights.TheConst it
uti
onisther
et o
safeguardher /hisright
s.

TheConst i
tuti
onguaranteestoussixFundamentalRights.Thesi
xFundamental
Rightsas
ment i
onedinourConst i
tut
ionare,
TheRi ghtt
oEquali
ty[6],
TheRightt
ofreedom[
7],TheRight
againstExploi
tat
ion[
8],TheRightt
oFreedom ofRel
igion[9],
TheCult
ural
andEducational
Rights[
10]andTheRi ghttoConsti
tut
ionalRemedi
es[11].

HumanRi
ght
sofPr
isoner
sinI
ndi
a:Cur
rentScenar
ioandVi
olat
ion

Thepr acticeoftor
tur
ei npri
sonhasbeenwi despr eadandpr edominantinIndiasincetime
i
mmemor ial
.Unchall
engedandunr estr
ict
ed, i
thasbecomea‘ normal’and‘l
egi t
imate’pract
ice
allov er.I
nt henameofi nvest
igatingcrimes,extract i
ngconf essionsandpuni shingindiv
iduals
byt hel awenf or
cementagenci es, t
ort
ureisinfli
ctednotonl yupont heaccusedbutal soonbona
fi
depet it
ioners,
compl ai
nantsori nfor
mantsamount ingtocr uel
,inhuman,bar bari
cand
degr adingt r
eatment,grossl
yder ogatoryt
ot heindi vi
dualdignityofthehumanper son.Tor t
ureis
alsoi nfli
ctedonwomeni nthef orm ofcustodialrape, molestati
onandot herf ormsofsexual
torture.

TheHon’ bleSupremeCour tofI ndi

aint hecaseofJogi nderKumarv .StateofUPandOr s.said
thatthe“ thequali
tyofanat i
on’sci vi
li
zati
oncanbel argelymeasur edbyt hemet hodsi tusesi n
theenf orcementofcr i
mi nal l
aw.Thehor i
zonofhumanr i
ghtsisexpandi ng.Atthesamet he
ti
me, thecr imerateisalsoi ncreasing.thecourthasbeenr eceivi
ngcompl ai
ntsaboutv i
olation
ofhumanr i
ghtsbecauseofi ndiscri
mi nat
ear r
ests.Ar eali
sti
cappr oachshoul dbemadei nthis
dir
ection.Thel awofar r
esti soneofbal anci
ngi ndi
v i
dual ri
ghts,l
iberti
esandpr i
vileges,onone
handandi ndivi
dualduti
esobl i
gat i
onsandr esponsibil
itiesont heother;ofwei ghingand
balancingt heri
ghts,l
iberti
esandpr i
vi
legesoft hesingleindivi
dual andthoseofi ndivi
duals
coll
ect i
vely;ofsi
mplydeci dingwhati swantedandwher etoputt hewei ghtandt heemphasi s;of
decidingwhi chcomesf irst­–t hecriminalorsociety,thelawv iol
atorort helawabi der.”[12]

Art
icl
e21oftheConst
it
utionguarant
eestherightofper
sonalli
bert
yandtherebyprohibit
sany
i
nhuman,cr
uelordegr
adingtreat
menttoanyper sonwhetherheisanat
ionalorforeigner.No
per
sonshal
lbedepri
vedofhisorpersonall
ibert
yexceptaccordi
ngtoprocedureestabli
shedby
l
aw.Thi
sAr
ti
cleal
soprot
ect
speopleforbei
ngretr
ospect
ivel
ypuni
shedf
oract
ivi
ti
eswhi
ch
wer
egiv
enastat
usofcri
meaft
ertheycommi t
tedtheact
.[
13]

TheHon’bleSupremeCour tofIndiahadoccasiontodealwiththeright
sofpr i
sonersinthecase
ofSunil
Batrav.DelhiAdministr
ati
on[14]
.Inthatdecisi
on,t
hisCourtgaveav eryobviousanswer
tothequesti
onwhet herpri
sonersarepersonsandwhet hertheyareenti
tl
edtof undamental
ri
ghtswhil
eincustody ,
alt
hought her
emaybeashr inkageinthefundamentalri
ghts.Thisi
s
whatthi
sCour thadtosayint hi
sregard:

“Are‘prisoners’ persons?Yes, ofcourse.Toanswerinthenegativeistoconv i

ctthenationand
theConst i
tuti
onofdehumani zati
onandt orepudi
atethewor l
dlegalorder
, whichnow
recognizesr ightsofpr i
soner
si ntheInter
nati
onalCovenantonPr i
soners’RightstowhichIndi
a
hassi gnedassent .InBat r
acase, theHon’bl
eCourthasreject
edt hehands-offdoctr
ineandit
hasbeenr uledt hatf undamentalrightsdonotfl
eethepersonasheent er
st hepri
sonalthough
theymaysuf fershrinkagenecessi tat
edbyincar
cerat
ion.

Tohandcuffist
ohoopharshl
yandtopunishhumili
atingl
y.Themi ni
mum f
reedom ofmovement,
underwhichadetai
neeisent
it
ledt
ounderArti
cle19[15],
cannotbecutdownbytheappli
cati
on
ofhandcuff
s.Handcuf
fsmustbethel
astresor
tast hereareotherwaysf
orensuri
ngsecuri
ty.

Arti
cle14[16];
givestheri
ghttoequal i
tyandequal pr
otecti
onalsotot
hepr i
soners.I
fany
excessescommi tt
edonapr i
soner,byt hepoli
ceisconsi deredasavi
olati
onofright
sandit
warrantstheattenti
onofthelegisl
atureandjudiciary
.Ther i
ghttomeetfri
ends,rel
ati
vesand
l
awy ersareprovidedunderarti
cle14andar ti
cle21.Suchr ightsar
eprett
yreasonableandnon-
arbi
trary
.Evenpr i
sonregulat
ionsrecognizetherightofpr i
sonerst
ohaveinter
viewwi t
halegal
advisernecessary,i
nareasonablemanner .Righttof r
eelegalaidi
sal
sopr ovi
dedunderthis
arti
cle14and21[ 17].

ROLEPLAYEDBYTHEI
NDI
ANJUDI
CIARY

TheIndianSupremeCour thasbeenactiv
einrespondingt
ohumanr i
ghtvi
olati
onsi
nIndianj
ail
s
andhas, i
ntheprocess,
recognizedanumberofr i
ghtsofpri
soner
sbyint
erpret
ingAr
ti
cles21,
19,22,32,37and39-Aoft heConsti
tut
ioninapositi
veandhumaneway .
Justi
ceV.R.Kri
shnaIyeri
nthecaseofStat
eofM. P.vShy
amsundarTr
ivedi
[18]sai
dt hat
“Convi
ctsarenotbymer er
easonoftheconvi
cti
ondenudedofal
lthef
undament al
rightswhi
ch
theyother
wisepossess”

“Likeyouandme, pr
isonersareal
sohumanbei ngs.Hence,al
lsuchr
ight
sexceptt
hosethatar
e
takenawayinthelegit
imateprocessofincarcerat
ionsti
llr
emainwit
hthepri
soner
.These
i
ncl uder
ight
sthatarerelat
edtotheprotecti
onofbasi chumandigni
tyaswel
lasthosefort
he
dev el
opmentoftheprisoneri
ntoabetterhumanbei ng.”
[19]

I
fapersoncommi t
sanycri
me,itdoesnotmeanthatbycommi t
ti
ngacr
ime,
he/sheceasesto
beahumanbei ngandt
hathe/
shecanbedepr i
vedofthoseaspect
sofl
i
fewhichconst
it
ute
humandigni
ty.

Disturbingcondi t
ionsoft hepr isonandv i
olati
onoft hebasi chumanr ightssuchascust odi
al
deaths, phy sicalvi
olence/ t
orture,policeexcess, degr adingtreatment,custodialr
ape,poor
qualit
yoff ood, l
ackfwat ersuppl y,poorhealthsy stem suppor t
,notproducingtheprisoner
sto
thecour t,unj ust
ifi
edprolongedi ncarcerati
on, forcedl aborandot herproblemsobser vedbythe
apexcour thav eledt ojudici
al acti
v i
sm. [
20]Ov er crowdedpr isons,pr
olongeddet ent
ionofunder
tri
alprisoner s,unsatisf
act oryli
v i
ngcondi ti
onandal legat i
onsofi ndi
ff
erentandev eninhuman
behav i
orbypr i
sonst af
fhasr epeatedlyattractedt heat tenti
onofcr i
ti
csov ertheyears.
Unfortunat ely,li
tt
lehaschanged.Ther ehavebeennowor t
hwhileref
ormsaf fecti
ngthebasic
i
ssuesofr el evancetopr isonadmi nistr
ati
oni nI ndia.

–(
Just
iceANMul
l
aCommi
tt
ee,
1980-
83)

I
suuesofconcer
nregar
dingpr
isoner
sinI
ndi
a

TheHon’bl
eSupr
emeCour
tofIndiai
nthecaseofRamaMurthyVstateofKar
nat
aka[
21]
speci
fi
ed9probl
emst
hatt
heIndianPri
sonsar
eaffl
ict
edwi
th.Thosebei
ng:–

80%pr
isoner
sar
eundert
ri
als

Del
ayi
ntr
ial
.

Ev
ent
houghbai
li
sgr
ant
ed,
pri
soner
sar
enotr
eleased.

Lackori
nsuf
fi
cientpr
ovi
sionofmedi
cal
aidt
opr
isoner
s

Cal
l
ousandi
nsensi
ti
veat
ti
tudeofj
ail
aut
hor
it
ies
Puni
shmentcar
ri
edoutbyj
ail
aut
hor
it
iesnotcoher
entwi
thpuni
shmentgi
venbycour
t.

Har
shment
alandphy
sical
tor
tur
e

Lackofpr
operl
egal
aid

Cor
rupt
ionandot
hermal
pract
ices.

Sol
uti
ont
othosepr
obl
ems.Wor
ldwi
deandi
nIndi
a

Asent enceofimpr isonmentconstit

utesonlyadepr i
vati
onoft hebasi
crightt
oliber
ty.I
tdoes
notent ail
therest
ricti
onofotherhumanr ights,wit
htheexcept i
onofthosewhicharenatural
l
y
restrictedbythev eryfactofbei
ngi npri
son.Pr i
sonrefor
msar enecessarytoensurethatt
his
principleisrespected,thehumanr i
ghtsofprisonersprotect
edandt hei
rprospectsf
orsocial
rei
nt egr at
ioni
ncreased, i
ncompliancewithrelevanti
nternat
ionalst
andardsandnorms.

I
nor derf oraprisonsy st
em tobemanagedi naf airandhumanemanner , nati
onal legisl
ati
on,
poli
cies, andpracticesmustbeguidedbyt heinternationalst
andardsdev elopedt opr otectt
he
humanr ight
sofpr isoner
s.Pri
sont ortureinall
for msi sbannedbyt he1948Uni versal
DeclarationofHumanRi ghts(UDHR) ,the1949Genev aConv enti
ons( signed1949) , t
he
Amer icanConv entiononHumanRi ght s(si
gned1977) ,t
heInter
nati
onal Cov enantonCi vi
land
Poli
ticalRights(signed1977),andt heUni t
edNat ionsConv enti
onagai nstTor tureandOt her
Cruel,InhumanorDegr adi
ngTr eat
mentorPuni shment( si
gned1988).

Pri
sonauthori
tieshav
ear esponsibil
it
ytoensurethatthesupervi
sionandt
reatmentof
pri
sonersisi
nlinewit
ht her ul
eofl aw,wi
threspecttoindi
vidual
s’humanri
ghts,andthatthe
peri
odofimprisonmentisusedt opr epar
eindivi
dualsforl
if
eoutsidethepr
isonfoll
owing
rel
ease.Butof
t ennat
ional l
egisl
ati
onandr ul
esrelati
ngtothemanagementofpr isonsare
outdat
edandinneedofr eform

Humanri
ght
sofpr
isoner
scanbeenf
orcedt
hroughv
ari
ousmet
hodssomeofwhi
char
eli
sted
bel
ow,

Pr
isonWel
far
eSchemes

Prisonwelfar
eschemesshoul dbei ntr
oducedinprisonsal l
ar oundthewor l
dsot hatsome
producti
vewor ki
sdonebyt heprisonerssothattheydonoti ndulgeinothernefariousacti
vit
ies
whi l
etheyareinj
ailandut
il
izetheirti
mei ndoingsomeer stwhileacti
vi
ty.Thejailauthor
it
ies
helpthepri
sonersorinmates,asreferredbyj
ailauthori
ti
es, toconductthemsel vesinabet t
er
waywhi chhelpsthem l
eadabet t
erl i
feaft
erthei
rrelease.Theat mosphereprovi
dedbyt hejail
author
it
iescompel
sthepr
isoner
stowor
kwhi
chdi
ver
tst
hei
rmi
ndf
rom ot
hermi
schi
evous
thi
ngs.

Theprisonerscanalsopar t
icipateingamesandspor t
sacti
vit
ieswi t
hinthe.Forexampl e,spor
ts
festi
sor ganizeddur
ingwint ersportsfest
ival
s,whi
charepopularl
yknowni nthejailas“Tihar
Olympics”[22].Dr
ugde-addictioncenterscanbeopenedupinev erypri
sonsot hatthedr ug
abuseanddr ugaddi
cti
onoft heinmatescanbecurbedsothatt heycanliveabetterli
feaf t
er
pri
son.

Pri
sonerscanbemadetowor kinvari
ousfactor
iessotheyunder
standt
hei
mpor
tanceofwor
k
andincul
catet
hesepr
inci
plesinthei
rli
feoutsi
deprisontoo.

Recreat
ionalfacil
it
iescanbegi v
ent otheinmatessuchasv ocati
onaltr
aining,educati
onboth
foradul
tsandf or
mal educat
ion,computercourses,gamesandcompet iti
onsar eheldever
ynow
andthen,alsoy ogaandmedi tat
ion,cr
eati
vearttherapy,
pai
ntingetc.Theser ecr
eati
onal
faci
li
ti
eshelpt heinmatestochanget hei
rbehav i
orandbecomegoodci t
izens.

JobPlacementshoul
dbepr ov
idedtot
hepri
sonerssot
hatt
heycanear
nthei
rdi
gni
tybacki
n
thesoci
etywhi
chtheylostwhentheywer
earrest
ed.

Theinmatescannotonl yprepar
eeatablegoodsbutalsoshir
ts,car
pet
s,khadiclothes,et
c.
Othert
hant hi
saf ewinmatescanbeal l
ocatedcreat
iveworkli
kemakingfurnit
ure,showpieces
l
ikesmall
t emples,f
lowervases,br
ail
l
ebooksf orthebli
nd,woodenchair
s,tablesetc.These
goodscannotonl ybesoldbutcanalsobeusedbyt heinmates.

Suchtypesofprogramsshouldnotbeoptionalandt
hisshoul
dbest
rict
lyenf
orcedbythejai
l
author
it
ies.Ever
yinmatehastobeinvolv
edi ni
t.Thi
smotivat
est
heinmatestoli
veabetterl
i
fe
aft
ertheendoft hei
rter
m andal
sothesepr ogr
amshelpinbri
ngi
ngoutgemsf r
om peopl
ewho
hadsunki nt
othedeepcoalmineofcrime.

Heal
thcar
e

Equiv
alenceofheal t
hcareandtherighttoheal
thisaprinci
plethatappliestoal
lpri
soner
s,who
areentit
ledt or
eceiv
et hesamequalityofmedicalcar
ethatisavail
ablei nt
hecommuni t
y.
Howev er,thisr
ighti
srarelyr
eal
izedinpri
sons,whereusual
lyhealthcareservi
cesareext
remely
i
nadequat e.Pri
sonheal t
hservi
cesarealmostalwaysseverel
yunder -
fundedandunderstaf
fed
andsomet imesnon-exi
stent
.

Therighttohealt
hincludesnotonlytheaccesstopreventi
ve,curat
ive,r
eproducti
ve,pal
li
ati
ve
andsuppor t
ivehealt
hcarebutal sot
heaccesst otheunderly
ingdeterminantsofhealt
h,which
i
nclude:safedri
nkingwat erandadequat
esanitati
on;saf
ef ood;adequatenutri
ti
onandhousi ng;
safehealt
handdent al
services;
heal
thyworki
ngandenv ir
onment alcondit
ions;heal
th-
rel
ated
educati
onandi nformati
onandgenderequal i
ty.
Impr
ov edpr
isonmanagementandpr i
soncondit
ionsaref
undamentaltodevelopi
nga
sust
ainabl
ehealthstr
ategyinpri
sons.I
naddit
ion,pri
sonheal
thi
sani nt
egralpartofpubl
i
c
heal
th,andi
mpr ovi
ngprisonheal
thiscruci
alf
orthesuccessofpubl
ichealt
hpol i
cies.

Thus,weshoul d[23]
,inconfluencewithadv ocat
esandsoci alact
ivi
stsworki
ngall acr
ossIndia
ai
m atget t
ingprisonersrel
eased,especiall
yindi
gentones, whoareorhavebeenunder goi
ng
tr
ial
sandhav ebeenl anguishingintheprisonforalongper i
odoftime.Forthispurpose,wecan
helpthepoorpr i
sonersineconomi candsoci alwaysbyfil
ingbailappli
cat
ions,f
il
ingforsur et
y
bondsandi ncaseswher et heindi
gentprisonersareunabl
et opayf ort
hesame, byprov i
dingfor
monet ar
yassistanceincollaborat
ionwithNGOi ni
ti
ati
vesalloverI
ndia.

Theprisonerswhoar ei npri
sonforlongperiodsoftimeneedconst antcareandsupport
becausetheydonotl osethei
rhumani t
ybycommi tt
ingacr i
me.Theyar eendowedwithand
deserveanequi v
alentamountofhumandi gnityandr espect
.Theprisonersneedtobevi
sited
regul
arlyt
oeaset hem oft hei
rri
gorousprisonlif
eandneedt obetalkedtoaboutthepr
oblems
thatt
heyar efaci
ng.Al soeducat
ional,r
ehabili
tat
ionandment al
healthcounsel
ingcanbe
provi
dedtot heprisoners.

Theprisonissupposedtobef orar ef
ormator
ypurpose.Howev er,t
heent i
repur
posefail
swhen
thepri
sonersar edeni
edtheveryrightst
hataref
undament altothei
rbeingahumanbei ng.Thus,
weshoul dtakestepstoensur
et hatthei
rbasi
chumanr ightsarenotinf
ringedandthatt
heyliv
e
withdi
gnity
, because,
aft
er-
all
,theyarehumanstoo.