THE CONCEPT AND EVOLUTION OF PRISON SYSTEM IN INDIA 2019

JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA, FACULTY OF LAW

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION PROJECT

ON

“THE CONCEPT AND EVOLUTION OF PRISON SYSTEM IN INDIA”

SUBMITTED TO

Mr. ENAM FIRDOS

SANA ANWAR

SEMESTER II

L.L.M (REGULAR)

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Acknowledgement

I feel highly elated to work on this dynamic topic on “THE CONCEPT AND EVOLUTION OF
PRISON SYSTEM IN INDIA”. Its ratio is significant in today’s era when there is need to study the
various aspect of prisoners reform towards effective implementation of ideology of reformative theory
and expand the study of criminology toward effective crime prevention.

The practical realization of this project has obligated the guidance of many persons. I express my deepest
regard for our faculty Mr. Enam Firdos. His consistent supervision, constant inspiration and invaluable
guidance and suggestions have been of immense help in carrying out the project work with success.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and friends for their moral support and encouragement.

Sana Anwar

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INTRODUCTION:

MEANING: PRISON

A prison, jail, or gaol, is a facility in which individuals are forcibly confined and denied a
variety of freedoms under the authority of the state as a form of punishment. The most common
use of prisons is as part of an organized governmental justice system, in which individuals
officially charged with or convicted of crimes are confined to a jail or prison until they are either
brought to trial to determine their guilt or complete the period of incarceration they were
sentenced to after being found guilty at their trial.

“Prison” includes Jails or any goal or place used permanently or temporarily under the general or
special orders of the Government for the detention of prisoners, under section 417 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and includes all land and buildings appurtenant thereto, but does
not include any place for the confinement of prisoners who are exclusively in the custody of the
police1.

OBJECTIVE OF PRISONS

As early as in the year 1920, the Indian Jails Committee had unequivocally declared that the
reformation and rehabilitation of offenders was the ultimate objective of prison administration.
This declaration subsequently found its echo in the proceedings of various Prison Reforms
Committees appointed by the Central and State Governments of the international influences. The
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, formulated in 1955,
provides the basic framework for such a goal. The international Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, propounded by United Nations in 1977, to which India is a party, has clearly brought
out that the penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which
shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation. It is, however, seen that whereas India is
second to none in terms of an enlightened thinking with regard to the purpose and objective of
1
Goa Prison Rules ,2006 which has been approved by Government of Goa on 12-10-2006 by way of
Notification:9/29/2004-HD(G)/Part.Official Gazette, Series I No. 28, Panaji 13thOctober, 2006.

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imprisonment, the gap between proclaimed principles and actual practices appears to have been
widening in recent years2.
HISTORY OF PRISONS
The origins of prisons can be traced back to the rise of the state as a form of social organization.
Corresponding with the advent of the state was the development of written language, which
enabled the creation of formalized legal codes as official guidelines for society. The most well
known of these early legal codes is the Code of Hammurabi, written in Babylon around 1750
BC. The penalties for violations of the laws in Hammurabi's Code were almost exclusively
centered around the concept of lex talionis("the law of retaliation") where people were punished
as a form of vengeance, often by the victims themselves.

PRISON IN ANCIENT INDIA

During the early years of Indian independence, the prison administration was using the inmates
as labour for their own development without considering the inmates requirements. Thus,
prisoners were there as a force labour. However, later it was released that the prison inmates may
be utilized for community services and productive work so as to earn their own living.

As suggested by Pakwasa Committee, a Model Jail was established at Lacknow in 1949 where
the prisoners were made to work on handloom machines and engaged in various other home
industries. The first women Jail was established in Maharashtra at Yarwada. During the last fifty
years, several notable changes have been introduced in the system of prisons in India.

The object of punishment during the Hindu and Mughal period in India was to deter offenders
from repeating crime. The recognized modes of punishment were death sentence, hanging, and
mutilation, whipping, flogging, branding, or starving to death. During Mughal rule in India the
condition of prisons was awefully draconic. The prisoners were ill-treated, tortured and subjected
to most inhuman treatment. They were kept under strict surveillance and control.

PRISON IN BRITISH INDIA

The British colonial rule in India marked the beginning of penal reforms in this country. The
British prison authorities made strenuous effort to improve the condition of Indian prison and

2
http://bprd.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/1445424768

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prisoners. They introduce radical changes in the existing prison system keeping in view the
sentiments of the indigenous people. The prison Enquiry Committee appointed by the
Government of India in 1836 recommended the abolition of the practice of prisoners working on
roads. Adequate steps were also taken to eradicate corruption among the prison staff. An official
called the Inspector General of the prison was appointed for the first time in 1855 who was the
Chief Administrator of Prisons in India. His main function was to maintain discipline among the
prisoners and the prison authorities. With this appointment, the jailor and other petty officials of
the prison can no longer abuse their power and authority.

The second Jail Enquiry Committee in 1862 expressed concern for the insanitary conditions of
Indian prisons which resulted into death of several prisoners due to illness and diseases. It
emphasized the need of proper food and clothing the prison inmates and medical treatment of
ailing prisoners. Certain recommendations were also made by the third Jail Enquiry Committee
in 1877.

As a result of these recommendations, the Prison Act, 1894 was enacted to bring about
uniformity in the working of prisons in India. It empowered the existing provinces to enact their
own prison rules for the prison administration. The medical services which were already
provided to prisoners in 1866 were further improved and better animates were provided to
women inmates to protect them against contagious disease. Despite these changes, the prison
policy as reflected through the Act remained deterrent3.

During the period from 1907, vigorous efforts were made to improve the condition of juvenile
and young offenders. They are now kept segregated from the hardened adult offenders so as to
prevent their contamination.

INDIAN JAIL REFORMS COMMITTEE 1919-20

The Indian Jail Reform Committee 1919-20 which was appointed to suggest measures for prison
reforms was headed by Sir Alexender Cardew. The Committee visited the prisons in Burma,
Japan, Philippines, Honkong and Britain besides the Indian Jail, and came to the conclusion that
prisons should not have deterring influence but they should have a reforming effect on inmates.

3
Vidya Bhushan : Prison Administration In India, p. 21.

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The Committee underlined the need for reformative approach to prison inmates and discouraged
the use of corporal punishment in Jails. It recommended utilization of prison inmates in
productive work so as to bring about their reformation.

In the meantime, there was a movement against retention of solitary confinement as a method of
punishment. Taking lead to this discretion, the State of Bombay abolished solitary cells from its
prisons. Other provinces followed the suit and reformed their prisons on humanitarian principles.
The Pakwasa Committee in 1949 accepted the system of utilizing prisoners as labour for road
work without any intensive supervision over them. It was from this time onwards that the system
of payment of wages to inmates for their labour was introduced. Certain good time laws were
also introduced in jails under which the inmates who behaved well during their term of
imprisonment were rewarded by suitable reduction in the period of their sentence. The ultimate
object of these reforms was to protect the society and reforms.

INDIAN PRISON ONWARDS 1950

Prisons in India are governed by the Indian Prison Act, 1894 and the rules and regulations for
administration and management of prisons as specified in the Prison Manuals of the States. The
emphasis is not only on safe custody of prisoners and under-trails but also on their reformation
and rehabilitation in society. Recognizing the need for reformation of offenders during
incarceration. Pundit Jawahar Lal Nahru expressed a view that criminals are largely creations of
social conditions and they are required to be treated rather than being punished.

The constitution of India has placed “Jail” along with Police and ‘law and orders’ in the State list
of the Seventh Schedule. As a result, the Union Government has literally no responsibility of
modernizing prisons and to look after their administration. Even the Five Year Plans offered a
very low priority to prison administration and Jail reforms.

The treatment of prisoners on psychological and psychiatric basis received some attention as a
measure of prison reform during 1950s. It was realized that the rehabilitative activities of the
modern prison should generally be of two kinds: 1) psychological and psychiatric treatment, 2)
educational or vocational training programmes.

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REFORM IN PRISON LABOUR SCHEME

The objectives of 'prison labour' have varied from time to time. The Indian Jail Reforms
Committee of 1919-20 recommended that the main objective of prison labour should be the
prevention of further crime by the reformation of criminals, for which they were to be given
instruction in up-to-date methods of work enabling them to earn a living wage on release.

The other objectives were to keep the offenders use fully engaged to prevent mental damage and
to enable them to contribute to the cost of their maintenance. Work was allotted to prisoners on
the basis of their health, length of sentence prior knowledge of a trade, and the trade which was
most likely to provide a living wage on release. After independence, punitive labour such as
extraction of oil by manual labour was abolished and more useful programmes were introduced
Co train offenders as technicians.

Some effort has also been made during the last three decades to train prisoners largely drawn
from among agriculturists in modern methods of agriculture and animal husbandry but, for want
of land, only limited progress could be made in this direction. 4 Initially, payment of wages to
prisoners was opposed on the ground that they were already a burden on the State. Gradually, the
need for providing some motivation to prisoners was realized and it was considered that some
monetary reward would develop interest in work and provide the necessary incentive, more so if
the prisoner was allowed to use the earnings on himself or his family. After independence, in
some of the open prisons, prisoners are paid wages at market rates out of which they pay to State
their cost of maintenance. There is now a growing realization that such liberal system of wages
would provide greater incentive for higher and better production.

Maharashtra was the first State to introduce in 1949 a very comprehensive system of wages.
The Apex Court in State of Gujarat & another v. Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat5 observed,
“Reformation and rehabilitation is basic policy of criminal law hence compulsory manual labour
from the prisoner is protected under Art. 23 of the Constitution. Minimum wages must be paid to
prisoners for their labour after deducting the expenses incurred on them”.
4
Chakrabarti Nirmal Kanti, Probation Services in the Administration of Criminal Justice, 1st edn., 1999, Deep &
Deep Publication Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, p-8
5
AIR 1998 SC 3164

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REFORMATIVE MEASURES FOR PRISON INMATES

During the early years of Indian independence, the prison administration was using the inmates
as labour for their own development without considering the inmates requirements. Thus,
prisoners were there labour force. Later, it was realized that that the prison inmates may be
utilized for community services and productive work so as to earn their own living. Social
isolation and confinement of prisoners in prison cells was reduced to a minimal as a reformative
prison policy.

As suggested by Pakwasa Committee, a Model Jail was established at Lucknow where the
prisoners were made to work on handloom machines and engaged in various other home
industries. The prisoners avail the facilities such as, furlough, ticket on leave, medical aid,
educational and occupational training etc. Thus, the modern Indian prison is an institution for
the treatment and reformation of inmates. Open Air Prisons and community are the latest
developments in this area which have been proved beneficial to prison community. Now, the
inmates enjoy considerable liberty in varying proportion depending on their perversity and
response to correctional methods.

The reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners is intended to bring about a behavioral change in
the prisoner’s perception about values, norms , attitudes through education, training, treatment
with a view to re-socialize and restore him to the community. There are broadly two main goals
of prisons. 1) custodial goal, 2) rehabilitative goal.

Custodial goal requires incarceration of offenders in safe but humanly environment with a view
to punishing them for their crime and to deter them from indulging in criminal acts in future. The
rehabilitative goal emphasis on adoption of treatment and reformatory methods for re-
socialization of the offender into the main stream of social life after their release from prison.

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OVERALL STATISTICAL VIEW OF INDIAN PRISONS

The snapshot on prison statistics, published by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) New
Delhi on 31st December, 2011 shows that the details regarding various persons and different
categories of inmates in India are as follows:

JAILS-

 Total Jails in India-1371

 Central Jails-133
 District jails-333
 Sub-Jails-809
 Open Jails-44
 Special Jails-19
 Other Jails-03

Total number of Jail Inmates

Total Inmates in Indian Jails is 3,76,396 in which 3,60,995 are Males and 15.40% are females.

 Mentally ill-368
 Convict-1,20,115 in which 1,16,057 males and 4,058 females
 Undertrails-2,50,727 in which 2,39,714 males and 11,013 females
 Detenues-7649
 Others-16039
 Total women inmates-9463
 Total foreign inmates -4,550 in which 1088 are convicted and 3,366 are undertrials, 96
Detenues

CENTRAL JAIL

The criteria for a jail to be categorised as a Central Jail varies from state to state. However, the
common feature observed throughout India is that prisoners sentenced to imprisonment for a

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long period (more than 2 years) are confined in the Central Jails, which have larger capacity in
comparison to other jails. These jails also have rehabilitation facilities.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have the highest number of 9 Central Jails each followed by
Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi with 8 each. Arunachal Pradesh,
Meghalaya, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and
Lakshadweep do not have any Central Jails.

DISTRICT JAIL

District jails serve as the main prisons in States/UTs where there are no Central Jails.States
which have considerable number of District Jails are Uttar Pradesh (53), Bihar (30), Maharashtra
and Rajasthan (25 each), Madhya Pradesh (22), Assam (21), Jharkhand (17), Haryana (16) and
Karnataka (15).[3]

SUB JAIL

Sub jails are smaller institutions situated at a sub-divisional level in the States. Ten states have
reported comparatively higher number of sub-jails revealing a well-organized prison set-up even
at lower formation. These states are Maharashtra (172), Andhra Pradesh (96), Tamil Nadu (94),
Madhya Pradesh (92), Karnataka (74), Odisha (66), Rajasthan (60), West Bengal (31), Kerala
(29) and Bihar (16). Odisha had the highest capacity of inmates in various Sub-Jails.

8 States/UTs have no sub-jails namely Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Manipur, Meghalaya,

Mizoram, Sikkim, Chandigarh and Delhi.[3]

BORSTAL SCHOOL

Borstal Schools are a type of youth detention center and are used exclusively for the
imprisonment of minors or juveniles. The primary objective of Borstal Schools is to ensure care,
welfare and rehabilitation of young offenders in an environment suitable for children and keep
them away from contaminating atmosphere of the prison. The juveniles in conflict with law
detained in Borstal Schools are provided various vocational training and education with the help
of trained teachers. The emphasis is given on the education, training and moral influence
conducive for their reformation and prevention of crime.

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Ten States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala,
Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have borstal schools in their respective
jurisdictions. Tamil Nadu had the highest capacity for keeping 667 inmates. Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh are the only states that have the capacity to lodge female inmates in 3 of their
Borstal Schools. There are no borstal schools in any of the UTs.

OPEN JAIL

Open jails are minimum security prisons. Prisoners with good behaviour satisfying certain norms
prescribed in the prison rules are admitted in open prisons. Prisoners are engaged in agricultural
activities.

Fourteen states have functioning Open Jails in their jurisdiction. Rajasthan reported the highest
number of 23 open jails. There are no Open Jails in any of the UTs.

SPECIAL JAIL

Special jails are high security facilities that have specialized arrangements for keeping offenders
and prisoners who are convicted of terrorism, insurgency and violent crimes. Special jail means
any prison provided for the confinement of a particular class or particular classes of prisoners
which are broadly as follows:

 Prisoners showing tendencies towards violence and aggression.

 Difficult discipline cases of habitual offenders.
 Difficult discipline cases from a group of professional/organised criminals.

Kerala has the highest number of special jails - 9. Provision for keeping female prisoners in these
special jails is available in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, Assam, Karnataka and
Maharashtra.

OTHER JAILS

Jails that do not fall into the categories discussed above, fall under the category of Other Jails.
Three states - Goa, Karnataka & Maharashtra - have 1 other jail each in their jurisdiction. No
other state/UT has another jail.

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The capacity of inmates (male & female) reported by these three States in such jails was highest
in Karnataka (250) followed by Goa (45) and Maharashtra (28).

LEGAL REGIME
Day-to-day administration of prisoners rests on principles incorporated in the Prisons Act of
1894, the Prisoners Act of 1900, and the Transfer of Prisoners Act of 1950. As per the Prisoners
Act 1900, “prison” includes any place which has been declared by the State Government, by
general or special order, to be a subsidiary jail6.
As per the Prisons Act 1894, "Prison" means any jail or place used permanently or temporarily
under the general or special orders of a State Government for the detention of prisoners, and
includes all lands and buildings appurtenant thereto, but does not include – Any place for the
confinement of prisoners who are exclusively in the custody of the police; Any place specially
appointed by the State Government under section 541 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882;
or Any place, which has been declared by the State Government, by general or special order, to
be a subsidiary jail7.
Any goal or place used permanently or temporarily under the general or special orders of a State
government for the detention of prisoners, under Section 417 of Cr.P.C, 1973 and includes all
land and buildings thereto, but does not include:
(a) Any place for the confinement of prisoners who are exclusively in the custody of the police,
(b) Any place specially appointed by the State government under Section 541 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1882 (10 of 1882)8.
According to the transfer of Prisoners Act 1950, “prison” includes any place which has been
declared by a State Government, by general or special order, to be a subsidiary jail9.
Although the terms “jail” and “prison” are sometimes used interchangeably, most members of
law enforcement distinguish between the two. Primarily, the difference is that a jail is used by
local jurisdictions such as counties and cities to confine people for short periods of time. A
prison, or penitentiary, is administered by the state, and is used to house convicted criminals for
6
http://aasc.nic.in/acts%20and%20rules%20(goa)/Home%20Department/The%20Prisoners%20Act,%20
1900
7
http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/aj/prisons/standards/acts/The%20Prisons%20Act%2
01894
8
http://bprd.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/1445424768
-Content%20%20Chapters
9
http://mha.nic.in/hindi/sites/upload_files/mhahindi/files/pdf/Transfer_prisoners_act1950.

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periods of much longer duration. Both are part of a larger penal system which includes other
aspects of criminal justice such as courts, law enforcement, and crime labs.

Suggestions

 It should be realized that if jail services in respect of reformative schemes are improved
and facilities given, they can do a very important constructive job of rehabilitation.
Developmental activities of the prison department, particularly in respect of welfare and
production, should be incorporated in the five year plans.
 The need for introducing radical changes in legal and administrative procedures to
prevent long detention of under trials has been stressed. Legal aid to needy prisoners is
also being given due importance. There is thus a clear trend to reduce the number of
under trials and to expedite their trial in recognition of their human rights.
 After-care for prisoners will assume greater importance when correctional programmes in
prisons are enforced properly. Both voluntary and statutory after-care will have to be
organised in future.

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CONCLUSION
To conclude I would like to state that there is a need for a specific and specialized legislation for
defining, and categorizing prisons and prisoners in India.
The Prisoners in India are still governed by the Prisons Act of 1894, the Prisoners Act of 1900,
and the Transfer of Prisoners Act of 1950, which three Acts do not even exhaustively define the
kinds of prisons nor do they exhaustively define and categorize the different type of prisoners in
India.
The Categorizing of the various kinds of prisoners and prisons for convicts, undertrial, would I
believe keep the under trials who might be not guilty away from the hardened criminals and
hence stop the formation of new criminals. Also putting limits on the prison time of various
undertrials by law would further ensure that the Criminal Justice delivery system becomes more
swift and would in conclusion led to less burdening of the prisons in India.
The acceptance of the form of categorization of prisoners in the United States or some form of a
modified system of categorisation of prisoners in United States, in India, will to a great extent
help in bringing down the burden on the Indian Prisons. It will also help to actually treat the
prisoner, rather than keep him untreated in prison.

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