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Introduction
“Prison is a second by second assault on the soul, a day to day degradation of the self, an oppressive steel and brick umbrella that transforms seconds into hours and hours into days” Mumia Abu-Jamal. Along the line, we humans have forgotten what it means, what is the purpose of prison and what it means to imprison a human being. In India, if we take a look at the prisons and their conditions they are below the words Pathetic and chaotic. The general meaning or to say the concept of imprisonment is to bar an offender from causing more harm to the society as well as to be able to realise, repent and understand the severity of their wrongdoing in order for them to be eventually released into the society as free beings.
There are four major purposes of prison, these very purposes are retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation. Retribution basically means to punish one for their crime against the society and to deprive the offender of their freedom is a manner of making these offenders pay for their crimes. Incapacitation is the removal of the offenders from society so that they can no longer harm the innocent. Deterrence means preventing future crimes. Rehabilitation means activities which are designed to change criminals into law-abiding citizens. These four aspects are practised in the hope that prisons will provide a warning to the people thinking about committing a crime and the thought of living in a prison away from their near dear ones will discourage them from breaking the law and order of the nation.
General Explanation
Let us take a dive into the Indian prisons and the prisoners subjugated to it, the way Indian prisoners are kept is not human from any perspective their existence in these prisons is nothing more than Mere Animal Existence, life is not mere animal existence or survival as it would include the right to live with human dignity and all those aspects of life which go to make a man’s life meaningful, complete and worth living. Before diving into the issues with the system we need to first understand what is the brief history as well as the prison system in India. In brief, the history of the prison system is divided into three chapters, in the first chapter which lasted till the middle 16th-century prison institution was mainly cell detention room in safe and secure parts of the villages or cities in which prisoners who were yet to be tried or prisoners whose sentence were pending to be executed were kept. In the second chapter, there was more of a trial and error phase with imprisonment as a form of punishment for certain types of offenders, especially juveniles. In the third chapter, there was a universal adaptation of the system of imprisonment as a substitute for the practice of brutal capital punishment.
Prison system in India, a prison is a place defined as an accommodation which is used to keep an individual who has committed an offence and whose trial is pending for having committed a crime. It is unfortunate that the importance of prison and prisoners laws are being treated as nonexistent laws and are not given enough attention as well as importance. There is an immense lack of strict legislation for the people confined to prisons, these people are humans too and should be treated like one as they have the right to live with dignity and they are entitled to receive basic respect and not to be treated as mere animals. The Government of India has completely forgotten about what human existence is in context to the prisoners and their rights if we take a look at the current scenario of the prisons we are bound to find overcrowding, corruption, unhygienic living conditions, shortage of staff and inadequate training, unequal treatment, inadequate prison programs, poor budget for health and care, insufficient legal aid, abuse of prisoners, custodial torture and deaths we will take a deeper look into these problems faced by Indian prisons.
Over crowding in prison is a immensely serious concern in India as many prisoners are being cramped into these prisons, there are many inmates who are still awaiting trials and this is one of the main reason for over crowding and in order to reduce this overcrowding the under trail population needs to be dismissed as soon as possible with accurate decisions, the courts need to work efficiently to dismiss these under trial cases. The concept of speedy trails are immensely exhausted by the heavy court workload and the complicated procedures which are hard for these prisoners to understand. Unfortunately the police department is lacking to produce the witnesses promptly and the disinterested defence lawyer who are hard bent upon seeking adjournments even though it causes harm to their clients. Fast track courts have not been as efficient as they should have been they are not making any difference to the problem of pendency of cases.
Corruption is such a disease which is spread in each and every institution, unfortunately even prisons are subjected to immense amount of corruption in its everyday functioning. Prison staff who’s sole duty is to keep the prisoners in check have been intoxicated with bribes to give special treatment to some over others. Guard corruption is a common phenomenon all over the world and many television shows have quite well highlighted it, given that the substantial power which the guards exercise over the prisoners such an issue is predictable but these prison guards are unfortunately more aggravated and desperate because of the low salaries which they earn. Prisoners in order to get a hold of contraband or to receive special treatment these prisoners give high amounts of bribes to the guards, the government needs to start paying salaries which are appropriate to run one’s family but unfortunately the government itself fails to provide appropriately for their servants hence they resort to such means.
Unhygienic living conditions, to live means to live hygienic and lead a healthy lifestyle if one is not hygienic and healthy he’s simply living an mere animal existence. Due to the massive problem of over crowding it has lead to disgusting living conditions for the prisoners. The lack of cleanliness and availability of resources is the main reason for health hazards, many prisoners have contracted serious illnesses and quite have succumbed to disease which were not treated due to the lack of availability of medical resources for the prisoners. Prisoners who are admitted into government hospitals for treatment are kept like animals and are kept separately where doctors barely visit and the ones who visit are interns who lack the necessary skills and hence many prisoners have lost their life, though they are prisoners their life is as important as of any other human being and the government has failed drastically in providing the accurate resources. Prison conditions need to be improved it does not mean to make their prison life soft but simply means it should be made human and sensible.
Shortage of staff and inadequate training, shortage of staff is an important issue as the amount of staff is need on ground for daily proper functioning is not available, prisons in India have a sanctioned strength of around 49030 prison staff of different ranks but the present staff strength is around 40000, the ratio between the prison staff and the prisoners is around 1:7 which basically means only one prison officer is available for seven prisoners in India, when compared to UK two prison officers are available for every three prisoners. The basic training which is a must for these guards is lacking as they are not well trained and lack resilience, communication skills, open mindedness, self discipline, teamwork and knowledge of public safety and security, patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations and to be thorough and pay attention to detail, these are some of the basic skills and training which the prison staff are lacking.
Unequal treatment, prison is such an institution where each and every prisoner must be treated equally despite their status in the society as the object here is to make an offender realise and pay for their wrongdoings. Quite some prisoners come from influential backgrounds and expect to be treated as VIP prisoners and get special privileges, they do receive special privileges because of their influence and wealth. Other prisoners are expected to do the duties of these so called VIP elite prisoners. In India where rigid class system exists in the prisons, it simply states that under this system special privileges are accorded to the minority of the prisoners who come from upper and middle classes, irrespective of the crimes they have committed or the way they conduct themselves in the prison has no importance. Outside the walls we assume all are being treated the same behind those walls but unfortunately no one receives similar treatment and that’s the harsh reality.
Inadequate prison programs, prison programs provide a comprehensive educational programs, treatment programs and prerelease rehabilitative programs for offenders while in prison and these programs focus on cognitive behavioural interventions, prerelease education, planing, skills. Many initiatives have been taken in some prisons, the Art of Living is carrying out a smart program in the Tihar jail and this includes two courses per month with follow up of the sessions every weekend and two courses are annually conducted for prison staff but these may be more by way of exceptions and experiments. There are only a few programs available but they are not as functional in parting the required information which it intends to and this is also the reason why many prisoners after being realised do not find employment as they do not possess the basic necessary skills required to face the real world.
Poor budget for health and care, Indian prisons highly lack in providing the basic health and care facilities. Taking care of the prisoners is where the system is lacking not providing the proper hygienic environment to live within and lack of medical facilities. An average of Rs,474 was spent on per inmate per year by the prison authorities in the year 2005 which was mainly distributed under food, clothing, medical expense, vocational and educational welfare activities. This is in contrast to the US where the average annual operating cost per state inmate in 2001 was around $22,650. As many prisons in India are highly over crowded the maximum expenditure is on providing food to the prisoners.
Insufficient legal aid, legal aid to those who cannot afford to pay for fancy lawyers is available the only issue is illiteracy as many are not even aware of how, where and when they can avail legal aid. Aid to those who cannot afford to retain counsel which is only available at the time of trial and not when the detainee is brought to the remand court, since majority of the prisoners who are in lock up as well as those in prisons have not been tried as the absence of legal aid until the point of trial reduces greatly the value of the country’s system of legal representation to the poor indigent people. Lawyers are not available at the point when many of them need such assistance. The unfortunate lack of good and highly efficient lawyers in the legal aid panels is also a matter of concern, several suggestions have been made from time to time to speed up the trial process in order to reduce the population of the undertrials to reduce the unnecessary over crowding in the prisons. Some of the suggestions provided by various committees were expeditious holding of trials making it more possible for the undertrials to plead guilty at any stage of the trial, a system plea bargaining.
Tough efforts were made by the University of Delhi’s faculty and students of law at the Tihar jail in field of legal aid, this included imparting legal literacy to the prisoners, sensitising the prison administration, taking individual prisoners in order to provide legal aid, involving paralegal staff to work with the prisoners. The seminar had suggested for the Lok Adalat’s involvement to a greater extent to constantly monitor the prisons as it is necessary to identify the inadequacies and shortcomings in the administration of prisons. The NIMHANS National Commission for Women study in the central prison, Bangalore. In the Indian prisons many women are illiterate and had never set a step outside their homes and had absolutely no financial resources, many women had been arrested on the petty charges and these women had no knowledge of the legal procedures as to what is the process of a trial, how to arrange for a lawyer, which laws exist for their children or their property and many more issues.
Abuse of prisoners, prisoners are not treated like human beings as their life seems to not hold as much importance of another and their existence is made to be of an mere animal to say. Prisoners face immense amount of abuse by the guards, slightest inconvenience and a prisoner is beaten and many a times they are beaten so harshly that they even die and that’s when fake certificates are made to show that prisoner has committed suicide while on the other hand the reality is absolutely different. Women prisoners are unfortunately not at all safe as they are vulnerable to custodial sexual abuse. This problem is quite an widespread issue around the world and in the United States where male guards are higher in percentage to women guards in many woman’s prisons. In Haiti female prisoners were even held to share their cells with the male prisoners which exposed women to sexual abuse and violence.
Custodial torture and deaths, the brutal inhumane torture which is given by police officials is a serious issue in India, third degree tortures within the four bloodstained walls of prison occur quite frequently and many a times they remain unnoticed. such cases come to light when the human rights activist or the media pay attention to the matter. The appropriate treatment of the prisoners mentioned in the Prison Act and in various manuals as well as the guidelines set by the Hon’ble Supreme Court are highly neglected by the police staff as they are unaware as well as of negligent nature. These inhumane tortures not only cause physical harm but also tortures them mentally and causes unforgettable trauma to the victim. Many a times these custodial deaths are covered by creating fake medical certificates to portray that the person in custody has committed suicide but in reality has died due to the torture they have suffered at the hands of these so called officials.
Rights of Prisoners
There are certain rights which are guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution of India and are available to prisoners as well, as they are human too and are to be treated as a person in confinement as well. Article 14 Right to Equality contemplates that the like should be treated alike and also provides the concept of reasonable classification, this very Article provides the basis for prison authorities to determine various categories of prisoners and their classification with the object of reformation. Article 19 guarantees six freedoms to the citizens from which certain freedoms are not available to prisoners, these freedoms are freedom of movement, freedom of residence and to settle, freedom of profession. Other freedoms enshrined in this Article are available to prisoners as well. There are other Articles which aid prisoners such as Article 20(1), Article 20(2), Article 21 and Article 22(4-7).
The Prisoners Act,1984. This act is the very first legislation regarding the regulations of prisons, in this act important provisions have been enumerated regarding the rights of prisoners and these rights are accommodation and sanitary conditions for the prisoners, provisions relating to the mental and physical state of the prisoners, Examination of the prisoners by a qualified medical officer, Separation of prisoners for male, female, criminal, civil, convicted and under trial prisoners, Provisions for treatment of under trials, civil prisoners, parole and temporary release of prisoners. The Prisoners Act, 1990. It is the duty of the government for the removal of any prisoner detained under any order or sentence of any court, a prisoner who is of unsound mind to a lunatic asylum and other place where he will be given the proper treatment as required. Any court which is a High Court may in case in which it has recommended to the government the granting of a free pardon to any prisoner and to permit him to be at liberty on his own cognisance.
The Transfer of Prisoners Act,1950. This act was enacted for the transfer of prisoners from one state to another for rehabilitation or vocational training and from over populated jails to less congested jails within the state. The Prisoners (Attendance in courts) Act,1955. This Act contains provisions authorising the removal of prisoners to a civil or criminal court for giving evidence or for answering to the charge of an offence.
Right against Solitary Confinement and Bar Fetters, the Courts have shown their strong view against solitary confinement and have held that imposing solitary confinement is highly degrading and has a dehumanising effect on the prisoners, the courts have taken the view that it could be imposed only in exceptional cases where the convict was of such a dangerous character that he must be isolated from the other prisoners for their safety. In the case of Sunil Batra the Hon’ble Supreme Court considered the validity of solitary confinement, the Supreme Court has also reacted strongly against putting bar fetters to the prisoners and the court has observed that continuous keeping a prisoner in fetters reduced them from human beings to an animal and such treatment was brutal and unusual that the use of bar fetters was against the spirit of the Constitution of India.
Right against Inhumane Treatment of Prisoners, The Hon’ble Supreme Court in numerous cases has taken a serious note of the inhumane treatment which prisoners are subjected to and has issued appropriate directions to the prisons and the police authorities for safeguarding the rights of the prisoners and persons in police lock ups. The court has read the Right Against Torture into Article 14 and Article 15, the court has observed that the treatment of a human being which offends human dignity, imposes available torture and reduces the man to the level of a beast would certainly be arbitrary and can be questioned under Article 14 of the Constitution of India. In the case of Raghubir Singh, the Hon’ble Supreme Court expressed its anguish over police brutality by upholding the life sentence awarded to a police officer responsible for the death of a suspect due to the torture faced in the police lock up.
Right to have Interview with Friends, Relatives and Lawyers, the Right to Life and Personal Liberty enshrined in Article 21 cannot be restricted to Mere Animal Existence. It means something much more than just physical survival, the right to have interview with the members of one’s own family and friends is clearly a part of the Personal Liberty embodied in Article 21. Article 22 (I) of the Constitution directs that no person who is arrested shall be denied the right to consult and to be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. This legal right is also available in the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court has held that from the time of arrest and this right accrues to the arrested person and he has the right of choice of a lawyer. In the case of Dharmbir the court had directed the state government to allow family members to visit the prisoners and for the prisoners at least once a year to visit their families under guarded conditions.
Right to Speedy Trial, the speedy trial of offences is one of the basic objectives of the criminal justice delivery system. Once the cognisance of the accusations is taken by the court then the trial has to be conducted expeditiously so as to punish the guilty and to absolve the innocent, everyone is presumed to be innocent until the guilty is proved and the quality or innocence of the accused has to be determined as quickly as possible. It is the duty of court to see that no guilty person escapes it is still more of it’s duty to see that justice is not delayed and the accused persons are not indefinitely harassed, it is absolutely necessary that the person accused of offences should be speedily tried so that in cases where the bail is refused and the accused persons have not to remain in jail longer than is absolutely necessary.
Right to Legal Aid, the Constitution of India itself has not expressly provided the Right to Legal Aid but the judiciary has shown its favour towards poor prisoners because of their poverty and are not in a position to engage the lawyer of their own choice. The 42nd Amendment Act,1976 has included Free Legal Aid as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy under Article 39A in the Constitution. This is immensely important and direct Article of the Constitution which speaks of Free Legal Aid but this Article finds its place in Part IV of the Constitution as one of the Directive Principle of State Policy and though this Article is not enforceable by courts the principle laid down there are fundamental in the governance of the country. Article 37 of the Constitution casts a duty on the state to apply these principles in making law whilst Article 38 imposes a duty on the state to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may, a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life. The parliament has enacted Legal Services Authorities Act,1987 under which legal aid is guaranteed and various state governments had established legal aid and advice board and framed schemes for free legal aid and incidental matter to give defect to the constitutional mandate of Article 39A.
Legal Provisions to Legal Aid
Article 39A of the Constitution of India deals with the provisions of equal justice and free legal aid. It provides free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society and ensures justice for all on the basis of equal opportunity and shall in particular provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way to ensure the opportunities for securing justice and are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. Article 14 and Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India has made it obligatory for the states to ensure equality before law and legal system which promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity to one and all. The provisions of legal aid have been laid down under Section 304 of CRPC which states that if the accused does not have sufficient means to engage a lawyer it is the duty of the court to provide a defence lawyer to the accused at the expense of the state. The right to speedy trial and free legal aid have been recognised as being a part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21.
The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under this Act Section 12 and Section 13 are two immensely important sections that mention the entitlement of the legal services. Section 12 states that criteria for giving legal services every person who has to file or defend a case shall be entitled to legal services under this act if that person is a member of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe, a victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar as referred to in Article 23 of the Constitution, a women or a child, a person under circumstances of undeserved want such as being a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, drought, earthquake or industrial disaster, an industrial workman, in custody including custody in a protective home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the immoral traffic (prevention) act,1956 (104 of 1956) or in a juvenile home within the meaning of clause (j) of section 2 of the juvenile justice act, 1986 (53 of 1986) or in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric nursing home within the meaning of clause (g) of section 2 of the mental health act,1987 (14 of 1987).2 (h) in receipt of annual income less than rupees nine thousand or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the state government, if the case is before a court other than the Supreme Court and less than rupees twelve thousand or such other higher amount as may be prescribed by the central government if the case is before the Supreme Court.
Section 13 of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 states the entitlement of legal services (1) person who satisfy all or any of the criteria specified in section 12 shall be entitled to receive legal services provided that the concerned authority is satisfied that such person has prima facie case to prosecute or to defend. (2) an affidavit made by a person as to his income may be regarded as sufficient for making him eligible to the entitlement of legal services under this act unless the concerned authority has reason to disbelieve such affidavit.
Under The Code Of Criminal Procedure,1973. Section 303 and Section 304 mention the provisions of legal aid to the accused person. Section 303 Right of person against whom proceedings are instituted to be defended, any person accused of an offence before a Criminal Court, may of right be defended by a pleader of his choice. Under Section 304 Legal aid to accused at State expense in certain cases where in a trial before the court of session the accused is not represented by a pleader and where it appears to the court that the accused has not sufficient means to engage a pleader the court shall assign a pleader for his defence at the expense of the state.
Intricacy of Legal Aid
The very reason as to why legal aid came into existence was to effectively be able to control and help the Indian citizens to start believing in the justice system of India but unfortunately this aspect has disappointed the citizens of India greatly as legal aid has clearly proven to have failed in being effective in India. The basic appropriate quality which is needed to be provided to the citizens has not been given. Free service does not mean to provide these people in need with any lawyer who has no basic experience or knowledge as such, there are not enough experienced lawyers who provide free legal aid to people in dire need as they are least interested in providing legal assistance as they have no monetary benefit as they would with another well to do client. Lawyers who should be helping these people are actually exploiting these innocent people as these lawyers use delay tactics and compel them to pay additional amount of money to them even though these lawyers are to receive their fee from the legal aid committee.
Legal aid services are not only subjugated to certain people but is also available to more than half the population irrespective of their financial status, legal aid is broadening its horizons which is a good sign but it has forgotten its main goal which is to aid the poor indigent people of the country. It is unfortunate that the government has failed to provide sessions in areas where the poor people are situated to make them aware of the provisions which are available for them to avail free legal aid services. The major obstacle is the delivery of the free legal aid services as it is far from efficient as we can clearly see that there are many prisoners lying in prisons from years cause they do not have the required financial assistance and the fact that they are not made aware of the fact that they can avail legal aid has kept them there helpless and in agony of being separated from their families. There need to be lawyers who are willing to genuinely help and to part knowledge to these prisoners and even the general public of their right to legal aid, there is am absolute need of campaigns which will make people aware of their basic rights as many of them are not aware of existence of their rights.
In order to make legal aid provision a success the first stepping stone is to make them aware of their legal rights as they are not aware, they are many a times extremely exploited and are ultimately deprived of their rights and benefits provided to them by the law of their country. The Government has constituted numerous amounts of committees as well as has introduced schemes and have made qualitative policies which can yield great results. Though all these facilities have been provided there is still a massive a gap in reaching to grass root level as the government has not able to spread awareness amongst the people about the benefits and availability of help. Government needs take active initiative in spreading awareness they need to send educated people into areas where this awareness is a must and not only in specific areas but also every possible place to make each and everyone aware in order for them to be able to spread the word by mouth too, the more campaigns of awareness the more efficiently effective the progress will be of each and everyone one. Every State has failed in imparting such knowledge and it is high time they start to work effectively and efficiently in uplifting the poor and indigent.
The very courts who are in existence to grant justice are being negligent in their job as they are just hearing cases as a formality of meeting their targets which are set by the High Court hence they hear these cases in such a hurry that the proper justice with right relief is not granted, unfortunately the quality of justice has been compromised in order to achieve these so called targets. In prisons there need to be educational campaigns which will help in guiding and parting knowledge to the prisoners who need aid as they are unable to provide lawyers for themselves, courts also need to play an active role in making sure that the prisoners are being made aware of all their basic rights.
Foreign Prison facilities
some countries across the world have completely changed the face of how a prison usually is pictured to be such as iron bars, unhygienic living, subpar food and a dreadful environment. There are certain countries that have treated criminals as human beings and not as animals, they have treated offenders as humans as the purpose to keep one in a prison is to make them realise their wrongdoing and repent for their sins and be able to go back in society and lead normal life’s with their families or by themselves with a clean slate. Bastoy Prison, Norway is located on the Bastoy island in Oslofjord and this prison is quite well known for the facilities it has provided for the prisoners. Within the prison complex, they have been provided with facilities like tennis, fishing, horseback riding and lush farms to work on. HMP Addiewell, Scotland this prison has set an example as a designated learning prison as this prison allots each of its residents 40 weekly hours of productive skill building with a special focus on helping inmates transition back to civilian life in a purposeful and fulfilling manner.
Otago Corrections Facility, New Zealand. They provide their prisoners with comfortable rooms and attribute great significance to change through skill-building by holding classes in light engineering, cooking and dairy farming and other things as well, as their goal is to rehabilitate effectively. Justice Center Leoben, Austria. This prison is for non-violent offenders, they provide each prisoner with a single cell with a private bathroom, kitchenette as well as a television. They also provide a fully equipped gym, basketball court and outdoor recreation area. These are some of the prisons that have treated prisoners as human beings and not turned their lives into Mere Animal Existence.
Conclusion
“The legal aid means providing an arrangement in the society so that the missionary of administration of justice becomes easily accessible and is not out of reach of those who have to resort to it for enforcement of its given to them by law, the poor and illiterate should be able to approach the courts and their ignorance and poverty should not be an impediment in the way of their obtaining justice from the courts. Legal aid should be available to the poor and illiterate, who don’t have access to courts. One need not be a litigant to seek aid by means of legal aid” Hon’ble former Chief Justice of India P.N.Bhagwati. How melancholic it is to see how greatly we have failed as human beings to protect other human beings in prison, they are the criminals of the society and are suffering for it but we are their wrongdoers as we have failed to treat them as fellow human beings and we all are responsible for turning their existence into Mere Animal Existence if only every citizen took an active part in pleading to the government to take responsible actions to make all the necessary changes in prison reforms. Along the line, it has been forgotten that they too are humans and the reason they are behind bars is to help them to serve time for their wrongdoing and not to keep them caged up like animals.
Indian prisons are one of the most disgusting places for any existing thing to live within as the conditions are gravely pathetic, prisons in India need to reduce the number of prisoners in one facility by segregating them into minor offenders and hardcore criminals this way there need to the allocation of facilities to confine them, due to low efficiency of the courts many prisoners are under trial which is one the main aspect of overcrowding as not all prisoners are convicted and if the courts work efficiently and take an active role in the delivery of quick decisions the issue of overcrowding is likely to reduce. Prison are highly unhygienic, this issue needs to be tackled as soon as possible as everyone has the right to a wholesome environment, living in unhygienic conditions is one of the main reasons why many prisoners contract deadly diseases.
Prisoners are not even given proper medical care as they are entitled to the right to medical care, prisoners once admitted into government hospitals are kept in a secluded place where if something was to happen they would not even be able to call for help and professional doctors are highly negligent in making rounds to look at the prisoner’s condition, once in the day an inter visits just as a formality. By this treatment, we can very much say that doctors who take the so-called oath to save lives are actually criminals who do not treat these prisoners equally and do not value their lives because they are simply treated like animals. Appropriate quality food is not provided to the prisoners, the food is of such low quality that it is likely to cause food poisoning to the prisoners, the government rather than feeding its own pockets and mouths for once feed their prisoners with the right quality of food.
Though there are many provisions provided to aid the poor and indigent, many prisoners are not educated to understand what free legal aid is or what their basic rights are it is the duty of the government and its employees to make sure that they conduct campaigns and lessons which will help these prisoners understand what all resources are available for them to receive free legal aid from, it is unfortunate that enough initiatives are not being taken to educated these prisoners. There are not enough programs available to the prisoners to learn new skills or to receive an education which is necessary for them to receive as when they are bound to be set free they need a certain set of skills to be employed as already it is hard for the convicted to find employment to make a decent living.
Prison abuse is a serious issue as many times prisoners are subjected to such abuse and torture that they are even beaten to death, to cover up their deaths then fake certificates are made to prove that the prisoner has committed suicide, such torture needs to be stopped and the authorities in charge of the prisoners need to realise that these people are human too. Foreign countries like Norway, Scotland, New Zealand and Austria are some of the countries who are treating their prisoners as human beings and are taking good care of them as one should, it is not expected of India to provide the exact facilities as these countries but India can learn from them to at least provide clean hygiene facilities to their prisoners to improve their quality of life.
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