Prison is defined as a center of captivity for individuals who are convicted or undergoing legal proceedings for wrongs done against the society. In prisons basically two categories of people are held captive- 1) Convicted prisoners 2) Undertrial Prisoners

Undertrial prisoners are described as those individuals whose cases are being still heard by the court and a final judgement has not been passed. Undertrials and prisoners in the jails of India are one of the highest numbers in Asia. One must understand that even though they are accused of the crime they still are protected by the law as they are citizens and have the fundamental rights like the free people.

Article 14, Article 19, and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution as known as the Golden Triangle protect the main fundamental rights of equality, freedom, and life and dignity respectively. One of the basic problems faced by the prisons of India is overcrowding. Overcrowding leads to several other connected problems like lack of sanitization, spread of diseases like HIV AIDS, tuberculosis etc. Many mental illness like estrangement, schizophrenia and stress related issues are also found prevalent.

According to me the basic right of the undertrial prisoner is the right to legal aid and speedy trial. According to various studies, it is clearly shown that most of the undertrials are illiterate or are not aware about the provision regarding bonds by which they can be released. Talking about bonds, one more issue that comes up is that many undertrials are people from the poorer sections of the society who cannot afford to pay the amount fixed by the court.  Hussainara Khatoon vs Home Secretary, State of Bihar, acted as a leading judgement where the Court stated that any undertrial prison who has been detained for an impeccably long period of time shall be considered unjust.

The detained person also has the right to contact the lawyer of his choice. In cases where the accused faces poverty or is unable to access legal aid, then it becomes the duty of the state to provide him with free legal access.

The undertrials also have the right to safeguard against the inhumane treatment meted out to him in the prisons. The first-time offenders should be kept away and at a distance from the hardcore culprits as they can have a bad influence on them. There have been innumerous cases of harassment and unruly behavior towards the undertrial from the other convicts. In the D.K. Basu judgement, the court pointed out that any treatment that is against the human dignity or imposes avoidable torture and treats humans in a subhuman way will be seen as arbitrary and can be questioned or contested under Article 14.

There shall be no handcuffing of the undertrials who are cooperating with the police and have not shown any unruly behavior. Even those people who are qualified, have dedicated their life to the service of the society and have no plot to escape and tried and tested for a bailable offence.

Under Article 22(1) of the Indian Constitution and Section 304 of the CrPC, it is stated that the accused shall have the liberty to contact his legal practitioner. This Article also stated that the period of preventive detention cannot extend beyond 3 months unless reasonable justification is given. It is the duty of the police to inform the person about the grounds of his arrest, and also let him notify the family members.

In my opinion first, those people who have been accused of grave offences and can tamper with evidence or witness or do acts that can hamper the process of fair trial and investigations should be detained. The mental health of the undertrials should be considered seriously as it can lead to trauma due to the harsh treatment from the society outside as well. They should be made aware about their rights as a prisoner and should be handled with dignity.

Only by the method of speedy trials can the problems of congestion and overcrowding in jails. This can also lead to better and effective service of justice, lowering the burden on the courts and prison administration as well.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

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