Last Updated: 24 Dec 2024
National Problem[1]
Overcrowding: The national average occupancy rate in prisons across India is 130%
Undertrials: 70+% of the prisoners are undertrials. So judicial reforms can help handle this
AAP Initiatives for the long pending reforms
-- Advanced jammers: Central Govt permission for ‘V-Kavach’ received
-- Full Body Scanners: Tenders already done
-- Conjugal visits: 1st state in India to allow
-- Drug/Health Screening for all prisoners
-- Hiring new forces and Infra upgrade
1. Advanced Jammers[2]
Prison calling system[3]
2. Full Body Scanners[4]
Current STATUS(Feb 2024):
-- Tenders floated already for installing full body scanners in 6 jails
-- Likely to be installed within a period of 5 months(by August 2024)
Inmates hide keypad phones & other prohibited items in their body’s cavities
Scanners capable of reliable detection including
Scanners to detect mobile phones, knives, lighter etc
3. CCTVs being installed[3:1]
4. Iron mesh and golf net on the boundary wall[5]
5. NEW High Security Jail to avoid Inter-mixing
6. Hiring for strenthening Force[6]
7. Bail money by Govt for Poor undertrials[1:1]
Many Poor jail inmates are unable to pay for their bail bonds or fine imposed despite securing bail or completing their sentence
Prison administrations spend more money on keeping undertrials inside jails than the bail money required for their release
Empowered committees have been formed at district levels to verify such cases & provide monetary aid[7]
8. Conjugal visits[8]
Punjab became the 1st in India to allow prisoners conjugal visits since September 2022
In 2018, the Madras High Court judges even went to the extent of saying that conjugal visits were "a right and not a privilege"
The men arrested for the Moosewala murder are not eligible for conjugal visits since they are gangsters
9. Investigation in violations[9]
10. Drug Screening across all prisons
11. Health Check-up
12. Judicial Reforms
REFERENCES:
https://prsindia.org/policy/report-summaries/prison-conditions-infrastructure-and-reforms ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/mha-gives-nod-hi-tech-jammers-to-be-installed-in-punjab-jails-101733858481801.html ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/jail-security-infra-hc-summons-md-of-punjab-police-housing-corporation-101734376256427.html ↩︎ ↩︎
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjab-govt-floats-tenders-install-full-body-scanners-jails-9141830/ ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/body-scanners-iron-mesh-to-be-installed-at-amritsar-central-jail/ ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/highsecurity-jail-to-be-built-near-ludhiana-says-jail-minister-bhullar-101731614616683.html ↩︎
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/108447408.cms ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/amritsar/spl-team-to-probe-cases-of-sneaking-mobiles-inside-jail-594624 ↩︎
