This article has been written by Ms.Devika More,a 2nd year LLB Student from D.E.S.’S Shri Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune.
Solitary confinement can be defined as complete isolation of a prisoner from all other prisoners and officers, loss of all human contact for a certain period of time. The prisoner is kept in a separate confined cell for mostly a period of 23-24 hours.Solitary confinement has been challenged over many years and the legality of the same has been questioned for over 60 years.This is a very serious punishment which is given to prisoners who have committed serious crimes or could be of threat to other criminals around them.
Indian Penal Code ,1860
Solitary Confinement is defined under Section 73 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 which states:
“Whenever any person is convicted of an offence for which under this Code the Court has power to sentence him to rigorous imprisonment, the Court may, by its sentence, order that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for any portion or portions of the imprisonment to which he is sentenced, not exceeding three months in the whole, according to the following scale, that is to say—
a time not exceeding one month if the term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months;
a time not exceeding two months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed six months and1 [shall not exceed one] year.
a time not exceeding three months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed one year.”
Section 74 in The Indian Penal Code
Limit of solitary confinement.—In executing a sentence of solitary confinement, such confinement shall in no case exceed fourteen days at a time, with intervals between the periods of solitary confinement of not less duration than such periods; and when the imprisonment awarded shall exceed three months, the solitary confinement shall not exceed seven days in any one month of the whole imprisonment awarded, with intervals between the periods of solitary confinement of not less duration than such periods.
Section 73 of the IPC states that Solitary Confinement can only be given to a person who has been sentenced with rigorous punishment which means a person sentenced with hard labour and has committed a heinous crime and not simple imprisonment which does not consist of any hard labour and has been punished for trivial offences.These are the two forms of imprisonment under Indian Penal Code,1860
As per Section 73 of this code,Solitary confinement cannot be exceeded for more than three months in whole and at a time it can be for a period of 14 days.
It is further stated:
The time shall not exceed one month if the term of imprisonment is six months
The time shall not exceed two months if the term of imprisonment is between six months and one year
The time shall not exceed three months if the term of imprisonment exceeds one year
Under section 74 of the code the basic human rights of the prisoners are protected which states that no solitary confinement can exceed for more that 14 days at a time and a whole of 3 months.If the period is extended further for more than 3 months then it shall not exceed for more than seven days in a month.
The Prisons Act,1894
Section 29 of the Prisons Acts, 1894 states No cell shall be used for solitary confinement unless it is furnished with the means of enabling the prisoner to communicate at any time with an officer of the prison, and every prisoner so confined in a cell for more than twenty-four hours, whether as a punishment or otherwise, shall be visited at least once a day by the Medical Officer or Medical Subordinate.
To summarise the period of punishment for solitary confinement :
TERM OF IMPRISONMENT SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
Six Months One Month Six months- One year Two Months More than one year Three Months
Solitary Confinement has been a questioned over its legality for many years because it a very barbaric form of punishment which can harm the prisoner physically as well as mentally and hence certain limitations are put on the time period regarding the same.There can be a lot of adverse effects on the person who has been in solitary confinement,some of which are
Suicidal tendebcies
Insomnia
Aggression
Post traumatic stress disorder
Certain rules are to be followed by the officials who are incharge with regards to prisoners who are kept in solitary confinement which include medical attention to be provided to the prisoner and a guard or official to be present out of the cell.
Landmark cases with regards to solitary confinement.
Charles Sobhraj Superintendent, Central Jail
In this case,It was held by the Supreme Court,Harsh isolation of any prisoner from fellow prisoners by cellular detention under the Prisons Act,1894 sections 29 and 30 is penal,which must be inflicted only in accordance with fair procedure,which if not followed can be violative of Article 21 of the constitution.
Sunil Batra Vs Delhi Administration
This is the case where the Supreme Court considered the validity of solitary confinement.One of the prisoners who was under a death sentence had initiated a petition.By way of a letter it was alleged that the jail warden had pierced a baton in the anus of another prisoner who was serving along with him in the same jail under life sentence due to the reason of extraction of money.It was held by the Supreme Court that any kind of solitary confinement or any other kind of hard labour shall not be impose without any judicial appraisal of the sessions judge.
Kishore Singh Ravindra Dev Vs State of Rajasthan
Keeping prisoners in solitary confinement for a long period of time at a stretch for months is termed as torture and barbaric and also breaches the law laid down by supreme court in past judgements.Only in exceptional cases regarding to security a prisoner can be kept in solitary confinement according to the supreme court.
The High court has also abolished the practice to keep death penalty convicts in solitary confinement after their sentence is pronounced.Solitary confinement is not a punishment but it is an additional punishment given to the prisoners by the officials incharge of the jail.
Conclusion
Solitary confinement has always been in question with regards to its constitutional validity and whether it is legal to treat prisoners in such a way.Over the years with landmark judgements regarding the same it is stated that isolation or solitary confinement is a torturous and barbaric process for any human being to go through and hence it has to used in the rarest of rare cases and only when it is an emergency or a threat to other co prisoners living in the jail together.Solitary confinement has to be in accordance with the given rules and time limits stated in section 73 and 74 of the indian penal code,1860 and also section 29 of the prisoners act,1894 and if not followed it is deemed to be violating Article 21 of the indian constitution. This type of punishment can cause trauma ,pain and agony and hence has to be given only for a period of 14 days at a stretch.Many advocates are in favour of abolition of solitary confinement as a form of punishment. And with past judgements the judiciary seems to be in favour of abolition and held that it is violative of the Indian constitution as it exhausts all their constitutional,legal and fundamental rights.
References
www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-9804-solitary-confinement-sec-73-of-ipc.html
IJCRT2006150.pdf-Solitary Confinement: A Paradox in The Constitution of India
indiankanoon.org/-Kishor Singh Ravinder Dev Etc vs State Of Rajasthan on 4 November, 1980
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