DH Insight | Behind bars: India’s prisons punish without reform

From overcrowding to staff shortages and mental health crises, India’s jails reveal a correctional system that is crumbling and desperate for reform.

Bengaluru: Violence is disturbingly common in India’s jailing facilities, though they are meant to be secure properties designed for reform. In May this year, a 29-year-old man was reportedly stabbed to death by an incarcerated Afghan national in Tihar Prisons, the biggest jail in South Asia, equipped with CCTVs, prison guards and additional security arrangements. What provocation triggered the attacker and how he sourced the makeshift weapon remain mysteries. 

In June, nine inmates at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru were booked for assaulting seven others within the prison premises. In the same month, Manoj Kumar Bhanwarlal Gupta alias Munna, a convict undergoing life sentence in the 1993 serial blasts case, was beaten to death in the Kalamba Central Jail in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur. 

Apart from violence inside prisons, rampant corruption, substance abuse, nexus between jail staff and inmates, smuggling of contraband, below-par living conditions and low budgetary allocations are some issues that hamper the functioning of prisons in the country. 

Most recent data from the Prison Statistics of India (2022), published annually by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), provides perspective on the status of prisons in the country at the macro level. 

Karnataka, with 59 prisons — eight central jails, 21 district jails, 27 sub-jails, one women’s jail, one open jail and one special jail —  has to hold 15,589 inmates but housed 16,203. The occupancy rate was 103.9%. 

The occupancy rate in Rajasthan’s jails was 107.4%. With 146 jails, Rajasthan has the most jails in the country. In Jammu and Kashmir, the occupancy rate was 146.4% — with over 90% of occupants being undertrial. There were no separate facilities for female inmates in the region, nor was there an open jail. And Maharashtra’s 64 prisons had an occupancy rate of 161.4%. 

The national average occupancy rate was 131.4%. This overcrowding was noted in the ‘Prison - Conditions, Infrastructure and Reforms report’, submitted by the Standing Committee on Home Affairs in Parliament in September last year. 

‘Inside Karnataka Prisons’, a report published by Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in 2022, noted that prison staffing was one of the state’s most overworked yet neglected wings. 

The report added that, as far as the number of inmates per bathroom was concerned, except for Central Prison Shivamogga and Central Prison Shivamogga Women, no central prison had the adequate ratio as per the Model Prison Manual at the time. The report also noted a lack of separate barracks for transgender persons in most of the state prisons. 

When reports indicate that inmates are languishing in jail, news of some ‘VIPs’ being showered with ‘special treatment’ inside prisons spark national interest. Take for instance the jail terms of Abdul Karim Telgi, implicated in the stamp paper scam, AIADMK leader V K Sasikala and Kannada A-lister Darshan Thoogudeepa. 

A probe conducted by IAS officer Vinay Kumar found that Sasikala did receive preferential treatment. She was held separately from other inmates and given access to a women’s section with five cells. She was provided with a cot and bed, and her visitors were allowed more time than the standard allocation.

Another factor that plagues the Indian prison system is the overwhelming number of undertrials. As per the NCRB, of the 5.73 lakh inmates in 2022, 4.34 lakh were undertrials — a whopping 75.8%. An estimated 2.15 lakh were aged between 18 and 30. 

A senior Karnataka prison officer, on the condition of anonymity, said that a large number of undertrials were poor, illiterate and belonged to marginalised castes, making it difficult for them to access legal aid and afford bail bonds. According to NCRB, of the 4.34 lakh undertrials, 1.13 lakh were illiterate, 1.69 lakh were educated below Class 10. These two categories accounted for 26.2% and 39% of total undertrial prisoners. 

Overburdened staff

The KSLSA report said that the day for warders and head warders was divided into three shifts of eight hours each but “it is quite strenuous as it requires prolonged standing”. Also, most personnel were posted in areas far from their hometowns and annual leaves were seldom approved. Due to staff shortage, availing weekly offs was also a challenge.

Staffing prisons was another major issue that successive governments across the country have failed to address. The NCRB report noted that while the sanctioned staff for all Indian prisons as of December 31, 2022, was 91,181, only 63,578 were appointed.

In Assam, for example, most jails lack sufficient jailors, wardens and security guards. 

According to senior IPS officer S T Ramesh, who helmed the Karnataka prison department in 2007 and 2008 and retired a few years later as the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP), the morale and self-esteem of staff is usually low because they spend a majority of their time inside prisons. 

“Is there any difference between a prison inmate and a prison officer? The prison officer works inside the prison. Therefore, the officer is the first prison inmate. The officer stays inside the prison premises and does his duty. He deals with prison inmates 24x7. It is a very toxic atmosphere and stressful. And if the staff is overworked it adds to the stress,” Ramesh said. 

“Burnout can be devastating, not only for the staff member but also for inmates, rehabilitation programmes and the correctional organisation itself,” the KSLSA report said. 

Medical intervention 

According to Cecilia Davies, the founder and executive director of the not-for-profit Justice Initiative, there have been instances where inmates were badly treated by medical staff when referred to outside hospitals. 

“Some were told upfront: Why do you need treatment? You have killed somebody and come here. Sometimes, the medical staff do not even touch the inmates to examine them. Most of the time, the prison staff do what is in their capacity. But when you are overworked and overburdened, you will not be able to pay attention,” said Cecilia, who has been working with prisons in Karnataka since 2016.  

According to the NCRB, in 2022, of the 1,773 natural deaths reported in Indian prisons — 1,670 deaths were due to illness and 103 deaths due to ageing. 

A senior Karnataka prisons department officer said that currently, the prison infirmaries were capable of treating most common health conditions. The infirmaries, which are equivalent to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), are administered by the Department of Health and Family Welfare. 

“In case of minor surgeries, the inmates will be taken to external hospitals,” the senior officer said. “Once a week, psychiatrists and gynaecologists from outside hospitals visit the prisons for routine check-ups, especially for women and transgender prisoners.”

On the other hand,  159 unnatural deaths were reported in the country’s prisons. Among them, suicide (119) was the predominant cause followed by accidental deaths (10) and murder by inmates (4). 

The officer quoted above said that it is extremely difficult for officials to tackle spur-of-the-moment incidents like suicides or attacks by other inmates. 

“If we know of any gangs with existing rivalry, we keep them segregated as much as possible,” the officer said. “In case of suicides, we observed that generally inmates who were scared of oncoming judgements and those who have trouble adjusting to the environment tend to take the step. When the inmates first enter the jail, we quarantine and observe them for 15 days so they come to terms with their imprisonment. Extra care is taken when judgements are near for inmates,” he said. 

Correctional facilities 

Former DG Ramesh said that all inmates lodged in prisons were prone to having mental health issues and substance abuse. This is evidenced by a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) when Ramesh was the prison chief. 

“Because of mental health issues, many may have suicidal tendencies, too,” added Ramesh. “Secondly, there is violence among the inmates. Some of them may be part of warring gangs outside and when they are confined in a closed space, the violence is expected to spill over,” he said. 

Another senior Karnataka prisons official said that since the staff strength was currently low, yoga, meditation and physical exercise programmes, designed to lower stress levels among inmates and officials were not being organised. 

In Karnataka, inmates in some prisons are provided with skill-training programmes in weaving, carpentry, agriculture activities and soap making. Apart from this, electrician courses, smithy, plumbing and painting were also taught in some prisons, with help from outside organisations. 

“It is compulsory for those serving rigorous imprisonment,” said TP Sesha, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (DIGP), North Range (Karnataka). “For the undertrials and those serving simple imprisonment, it is voluntary.”

However, the effectiveness of such programmes has proved questionable for some. Ashok Rao (name changed) spent a year in a district jail in Karnataka on charges of attempt to murder between 2013-14 before being released. Rao then joined a financial firm in coastal Karnataka and began working as an agent to seize loan defaulters’ vehicles. 

“For me, personally, the skill training inside the prisons was not of much help,” said Rao. “I had to look at my earlier contacts and find something to do.”

Contraband

Raids on prisons in India have also unearthed the prevalence of contraband and narcotics. Weapons were found, mobile phones were recovered and in some cases, investigators busted gangs operating inside the premises with impunity.

According to a recent DH report in August, jailed gangsters at the Parappana Agrahara Prison Complex in Bengaluru had plotted at least two murders and made one extortion call from inside the prison in the last eight months. 

One prison official in Karnataka, on the condition of anonymity, claimed that in most cases, “the nexus between prison staff and inmates led to the latter ruling the jails”.

What’s the way forward? 

A glance at the total sanctioned budget by state governments for correctional facilities across the country has increased from Rs 6,740.6 crore in 2020-2021 to Rs 8,725 crore in 2022-2023. The actual expenditure for 2020-2021 and 2022-2023 was Rs 5,814.4 crore and Rs 7,781.9 crore, respectively.

Experts say that hiring and the functioning of several rehabilitation programmes suffer without an increase in allocations and expenditures. Former DG S T Ramesh explained that there was a need to upgrade capacity through the construction of new jails and focus on building separate prisons for women and undertrials.  

“Male and female inmates should not be housed in the same premises, however well it is segregated. There is also a need for separate prisons for undertrials — limiting their contact with convicts, who are generally considered ‘hardened’ by the system,” said Ramesh. 

He also highlighted the need for permanent counsellors inside the prison to tackle mental health issues. A counselling room where such interventions can be carried out is integral. 

“There is also a need to bring in the aspect of literacy and education. Inmates have to be positively engaged provided we have the political will to have on board the right kind of people who can lead an initiative. Prisons cannot be the overarching solution for any and every form of crime. A system that can work towards rebuilding bridges and reconciling — that is the one we need,” said Cecilia. 

“There is a need to rehabilitate the inmates and liberalise the parole system as well,” explained Ramesh.

(With inputs from Arjun Raghunath in Thiruvananthapuram, Mrityunjay Bose in Mumbai, SNV Sudhir in Hyderabad, Sumir Karmakar in Guwahati and Zulfikar Majid in Srinagar)