India
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India: from segregation to labour, Manu’s caste law governs the Indian prison system
Caste-based labour is sanctioned in the prison manuals of many states. The colonial texts of the late 19th century have barely seen any amendments, and caste-based labour remains an untouched part of these manuals. While every state has its own unique prison manual, they are mostly based on The Pr…India: can e-Prison module decongest jails? Supreme Court explores feasibility
Overcrowding of prisons is a long-standing problem with Indian jails. But suo motu case in the Supreme Court raises hopes of addressing the issue with the help of technology. The e-Prison module is a digital system designed to streamline the release process for undertrials and convicts, particularl…India: Supreme Court seeks reply from states and UTs over ‘inhuman’ conditions in prisons
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked states and Union Territories to file a detailed reply addressing the inhuman conditions in prisons. The apex court has already taken suo motu cognizance of the conditions in 1,382 prisons across the country, remarking that the problems plaguing jails in India con…India: despite campaign, the country saw number of prisoners increase in 2022
By December 2022, India’s prisons were filled to 131% of capacity, up one percentage point from 2021. This is despite a campaign in July last year to identify undertrial prisoners eligible for release, and the country adding 11 prisons since 2021.India: Delhi, U'khand jails filled with twice the capacity of inmates
Despite several directions from the Supreme Court on the subhuman conditions in prisons across the country, jails continue to remain in a miserable condition. The latest figures show that Delhi and Uttarakhand have the worst situation, with almost twice the capacity of inmates in cells.India: denied basic facilities, women prisoners impacted far worse than men
On August 29, the Supreme Court sought the views of the Centre and the states on the Justice Amitava Roy Committee report submitted on December 27, 2022, underlining that the correctional justice system is “evidently gender exclusionary”.
India: high prevalence of skin disease among prison inmates
A screening camp conducted by the Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists, and Leprologists (IADVL), Kerala branch, at 10 prisons in the State has revealed that about 30% of the inmates having skin diseases had fungal infections.India: UP prisons to be known as "reform homes"
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while reviewing the condition of prisons in a high-level meeting on Thursday, gave important guidelines towards prison reform.He expressed the need to establish prisons as ‘Sudhaar Grah’ (Reform Homes) and issued instructions regarding the preparation o…
India: Tihar Jail violence, no quick-fix solutions, judicial reforms necessary
Tihar Jail, located in New Delhi, is one of South Asia’s largest and most notorious prison complexes. The prison was intended as a correctional facility, but the growing spate of violence and gang wars within the jail has cast a shadow over its reputation yet again. Why have the authorities been un…India: recreational activities held for kids of women prisoners
Recreational activities will be organised for the children of women inmates in jail in connection with project “Khushi” a campaign of the Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) to provide a different environment to children suffering for a crime they have not committed while staying wit…