Centre calls for prison reform amidst escalating inmate crimes

The Union government this month sent states its Model Prison Act, 2023, for guidance on how to restructure India’s jail system and address some long-standing issues. Among the new provisions in this Act are electronic tracking gadgets for inmates on parole, separate facilities for transgender inmates, and sentences for those found guilty of using or providing cell phones to prisoners.

The centre comes up with a new set of instructions in the wake of significant deaths and gang warfare within some of India’s famous jails, where notorious convicts frequently continue to manage their criminal networks. When mobster Sunil Baliyan, also known as Tillu Tajpuriya, was fatally stabbed by other convicts who had managed to burst open the metal grilles of their cell, attention was recently drawn to the security architecture in high-security prisons.

Why is a reform in the existing laws necessary?

In a letter to chief secretaries of different states, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued a document stating the need to modernise rules that are now governed by “two pre-Independence eras” statutes, the Prisons Act of 1894 and the Prisoners Act of 1900.

Many of the terms of these age-old colonial acts “have become outdated and ineffective in the modern world of new crimes and problems, and also the ideology of the rehabilitation and reformation of prisoners has changed to a great extent in the current times compared to the colonial era,” Bhalla wrote, citing the requirement for a more “progressive and robust” law in line with modern standards and correctional ideology.

The drafting of the model prison act demonstrates the necessity of modernising antiquated, colonial-era laws governing India’s jails so that technology can be effectively used to ensure the security and safety of prisoners. A new law could also end the culture of bribery and corruption that plagues several jails in the country, preventing tough criminals from operating their criminal organisations from behind bars.

The employment of electronic devices to track inmates when they are released on parole is one of the model act’s most important provisions. Although several countries utilise ankle bracelet monitors for prisoners who break parole terms, this rule has not yet been implemented in any jail in India.

There have been a number of instances of convicts refusing to surrender after their parole has expired over the past few years. Point 29 of the Act states that inmates “may be granted prison leave subject to their willingness to put on electronic tracking devices for monitoring their movements and activities.” At least 600 inmates who were released for humane reasons to clear jails during Covid-19 have still not turned themselves back into Delhi prisons. Gangster Kapil Sangwan was one of them; he never gave himself up, left the country, and carried on managing his gang’s business from abroad.

Getting surveillance technology, such as ankle bracelets used in certain jails abroad, was an excellent concept but could be challenging to implement, according to Sunil Gupta, a former law officer of Delhi prisons. “Having a GPS tracker attached to a parolee instead is highly useful and cost-effective. This was something we had considered in the past, but it was never put into practice out of concern about rights organisations’ privacy concerns. It would be a smart move if any jail in the country is able to execute this,” he said.

Mobile phones have been particularly named in the new model law, and if a person is found guilty of providing one to a prisoner, they might face a sentence of up to three years in jail, a fine of up to ₹25,000, or both. Mobile phone use in prison has been a major issue in Indian jails. The murder of gangster Jitender Gogi and Punjabi musician Sidhu Moosewala, both of which were organised from within prisons in Delhi and Punjab. In both instances, gangsters who were imprisoned used phones to communicate with their killers while plotting the crime.

The model law also highlighted the significance of measures that forbid staff from doing business with detainees or their families. The legislation forbids inmates from engaging in any business transactions or activities within the facility.