Posted by PRISONERS’ RIGHTS
Author: Shreya Rajan, Faculty of Law, ICFAI University, Dehradun
“Convicts are not by mere reason of conviction denuded of all the fundamental rights which they otherwise possess.” V.R. Krishna Iyer
Recognition of a human being in the convicted offender is an idea that has been recognised and accepted by the State after a lot of struggle. Yes, the basic rights of those convicted can be narrowed- restricted movements, restriction over freedom of speech (only in necessary cases), not being permitted to meet family members (except with due permission of concerned authority), due to the fact that they are confined, but it can in no way be erased.
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees to every citizen as well as foreigner within the territory of India the right to life and personal liberty. The Article prohibits any cruel and degrading treatment to any person imprisoned. Any violation of Article 21 attracts the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution, which provides to every person within Indian territory both equality before law and equal protection of law. Every person has the right to legal aid so as to enable him to have access to justice, in case his human rights are violated. Article 142 read with Article 21 and Article 39(A) of Indian Constitution provides court with the power to assign counsel for such imprisoned individual who is unable to exercise his right of appeal for want of legal assistance. Also, the easiest way for the police to find out the truth or to make prisoners confess a crime is to beat them and torture them mercilessly. Torture is a wound in the soul so painful that sometimes you can almost touch it, but it is so intangible that there is no way to heal it. Custodial torture is a naked violation of human dignity and degradation which destroys to a very large extent, the individual personally. It is a calculated assault on human dignity and whenever human dignity is wounded, civilisation takes a step backward. Article 21 provides the right of personal liberty , a cherished and sacred right in the Constitution. Personal dignity is not only the right to live with dignity, it is also a guarantee of protection against any torture or assault by state or its functionaries. The right under Article 21 does not mean mere animal existence. It is more than just physical survival.
Furthermore, remuneration is paid to anyone asked to provide service for the state, if not, it shall be held to be ‘forced labour’ as per Article 23 of the Constitution. Whenever during imprisonment the prisoners are made to work in the prison, they must be paid wages at a reasonable rate. The wages shouldn’t be below minimum wages. The Supreme Court has in the recent past been very vigilant against infringement of the human rights of prisoners.
Its decision in various cases has paved a clear path for the security and betterment of prisoners. In the case of Sunil Batra and Charles Sobharaj, the Court held that imprisonment does not mean a total deprivation of the prisoner’s right of life and liberty and also that ‘safe-keeping’ in jail custody is the limited jurisdiction of the jailer. In another case of Prem Shankar Shukla vs Delhi Administration the Supreme Court struck down the provisions of Punjab Police Rules which discriminated between rich and poor prisoner in determining who was handcuffed. The Court also held that the procedure of handcuffing is a violation of Article 21, unless the escorting authority has recorded the reasons for such action.
A prisoner does not cease to be a human being and hence, he enjoys the same rights which a free man does, albeit with some restrictions.
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This Article was prepared or accomplished by Shreya Rajan in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the LawOF.in
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