The law governing prisoners’ rights has evolved throughout time. There is no comprehensive legislation that addresses prisoners’ rights and governs their behaviour while incarcerated. The country’s judiciary, on the other hand, has repeatedly accorded proper recognition to the criminals and their fundamental rights. In the absence of comprehensive law, it has succeeded in establishing precedents and principles defending the rights of prisoners that not only guide but also bind all Indian courts. Prisons have as their primary goal the reintegration of convicts back into society. If a person commits a crime, it does not mean that he ceases to be a human being or that he is entitled to deprive himself of those components of life that define human dignity. He is still a human being who deserves to be treated as such. He should be granted the same basic human rights as every other guy.
Fundamental rights are also guaranteed to prisoners to some extent. The Indian Supreme Court has reaffirmed the principle that “imprisonment does not mean the end of fundamental rights.” As a result, the court has firmly established that a prisoner’s fundamental rights are enforceable realities, albeit limited by the fact of imprisonment. Article 14 i.e., Right to Equality, Article 19 i.e., Right to Freedom and Article 21 i.e., Right to life and personal liberty are enjoyed by the prisoners. However, they are only entitled to Freedom of speech and expression and Freedom to become member of an association. In addition to this, Right to Privacy is also available for the prisoners.
Prisons Act of 1894 was the country’s first piece of jail law. This Act is primarily concerned with the reformation of convicts in relation to their rights. According to the Prisoners Act 1990, the government’s responsibility to transport any unsound prisoner jailed under any order or sentence of any court to a lunatic institution or other facility where he would get proper treatment.
The country’s judiciary has played a critical role in protecting prisoners’ rights. It has repeatedly acted as a saviour for prisoners, upholding their fundamental rights. It has vigorously exercised its powers through judicial activism, and it has repeatedly invented new remedies and measures to preserve people’s rights to life and liberty.
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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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.
We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge