Vol.27, No. 2

ICA NewsletterOnly for private circulation

INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATION, CHANDIGARH

Editorial

1

ICA Newsletter

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A. Constitution of India – Arts. 21, 32, 72, and 161 – Multiple mercy petitions – Rejections of each mercy petition, held, does not entitle death convict to fresh observance of all the due process safeguards / exercise of rights that death convict is entitled to before death warrant is issued and finally executed, as laid down in Shatrughan Chauhan, (2014) 3 SCC 1 and summarized in Shabnam, (2015) 6 SCC 702, if they have been duly observed after rejection of first mercy petition by the President, nor does each rejection entitle death convict to invoke writ jurisdiction of Supreme Court each time to challenge the same, as sought to be done in present case – Instant petition is a clear expose of manipulation of the principle of the rule of law and an abuse of process.

B. Constitution of India – Arts 72, 161, 32 and 21 – Mercy petition by brother of death convict, when death convict had knowledge of

each petition and had written a letter to Jail Superintendent acknowledging the same – Legal remedy of making a mercy petition to the President of India, held, was availed by death convict – It cannot be said that legal remedy was denied to death convict (petitioner).

C. Constitution of India – Arts. 142, 137, 32 and 136 – Curative petition – Nature of – Judgment / Order which is under assail.

D. Constitution of India – Arts. 32, 21, 142 and 141 – Death sentence – Writ petition against dismissal of curative petition – Maintainability – Ground of illegality of death w a r ra n t a n d v i o l a t i o n o f procedure relating to curative petition – Writ petition though entertained and decided on merits, no defect in impugned orders found – Writ petition gone into on merits and dismissed and death warrant affirmed.

Judgment dated 29.07.2015 (Before Dipak Misra, Prafulla C. Pant and Amitava Roy, JJ)Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 129 of 2015.

The judgment of the court was delivered by Dipak Misra, J. – Invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner, who has been sentenced to death, has prayed for i s s u a n c e o f a m a n d a m u s o r appropriate writ or direction for setting aside the order dated 30.04.2015, passed by the Presiding Officer, Designated Court under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987, for Bombay Blast Cases and the order bearing dated 13.7.2015, issued by the Superintendent, Nagpur Central Prison, Nagpur, in terms whereof the death sentence awarded to the petitioner has been directed to be executed on 30.7.2015, at 7.00 a.m.;

Be it stated here, the mercy petition was preferred on 6.8.2013 and prior to that, the review petition was d ismissed by c i rcu lat ion on 30.7.2013 by the two Judge Bench of this Court, which had decided the appeal on 21.3.2013. After rejection of the curative petition on 21.7.2015, the petitioner submitted a mercy p e t i t i o n t o t h e G o v e r n o r, Maharashtra which was received on 22.7.2015. He also submitted another mercy petition to the President of India which was received by the President of India at 2.00 PM on 29.7.2015. Both these mercy petitions have been rejected. Held : “The instant petition is a clear expose of the manipulation of the principle of the rule of law. The petitioner was tried for which is known as the Bombay Blast Case' and stood convicted in the year 2007. Almost 22 years have passed since 1993, when the incident occurred. We have not perceived any error in the issue of the death warrant as per our order dated 29.7.2015 passed in Yakub Abdul Razak Menon v. State of Maharashtra. The only exception which has been enthusiastically carved out by Mr .Grover, learned Senior Counsel and Mr. Chaudhry, learned counsel is that they are entitled to get 14 days' time to assail the rejection of the mercy petition. When the first mercy petition was rejected on 11.4.2014, there was sufficient time available to the petitioner to make arrangements for his family members to meet him in prison and make necessary worldly arrangements. There was adequate time to prepare himself to meet his Maker and to make peace with him. further, the family was allowed to meet the petitioner whenever they desired as per the Jail Manual.

Supreme Court Judgment

May, 2016

(2015) 9 Supreme Court Cases 552

Review Petition (Crl.) No. 474 of 2013

in Crl A. No. 1728 of 2007

(Before Anil R. Dave, Jasti Chelameswar and Kurian

Joseph, JJ) Yakub Abdul Razak Menon

…… Petitioner

Versus

State of Maharashtra Through Special

Task Force, Central Bureau of

Investigation, Mumbai

…. Respondent

Review Petition (Crl.) No. 474 of 2013

in Crol A. No. 1728 of 2007 with other

eight writ petitions,

decided on July 30, 2015

"Learning without thought is labour lost. Thought without learning is intellectual death". Confucius.

The Institute strives towards creating a better learning environment for trainees. Application of what is learned is equally important along with willingness to act and implement what is learnt. In order to develop prisons as a learning organization, there must be more willingness of the prison department to share its experiences.

Imprisonment is one of the most commonly used modes of punishment. The World Prison Brief released Prison Statistics of almost 200 countries in 2015. This report shows that more than 10.35 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, either as pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners or having been convicted and sentenced. The world prison population has increased by around 20% since 2000 which is slightly above the estimated 18% increased in the world's general population over the same period. Prison population rates vary considerably between different regions of the world, and between different parts of the same continent. The female prison population total has seen a sharp increase by 50% since about 2000 while the equivalent figure for the male prison population is 18%. The World Female Imprisonment (3rd edition) reveals that 700000 women and girls are held in penal institutions in 219 prison systems throughout the world either as pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners or having been convicted. There are also considerable variations between countries, regions and continents. Women in prisons require a more gender sensitive prison management approaches. There is much that needs to be shared and learnt from the different prison systems.

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 came into force in January, 2016 after a lot of debate and it is hoped that this law will provide an opportunity to the juvenile offenders to reform and the Institute will be conducting training programme for police and prison officers to enlighten them about the provisions of this Act. The Institute started with another new initiative of conducting training programmes for the Chandigarh Administration employees. We hope to continue working with increased enthusiasm and motivation and hope that apart from prison departments, the other departments will take help of the Institute in further developing the human resources.

I am also happy to share that the Model Prison Manual, 2016 has been framed with active discussions and deliberations that were held over the period of six months following the Hon'ble Supreme Court directions. We will share more about Model Prison Manual, 2016 in our next edition of newsletter. Happy reading.

Dr. Upneet LalliDeputy Director, ICA, Chandigarh

Imprisonment has huge costs - both economic and social. Policies to contain and reduce prison numbers are gaining ground in many parts of the world. President Obama of USA ushered in major criminal justice reforms like Fair Sentencing Act to reduce the incarceration rate of US which is one of the highest in the world. A clemency initiative has also been established by the President to encourage individuals who were sentenced under outdated laws and policies to petition for commutation. A fair, humane and just criminal justice system is an ideal that is pursued by enlightened nations.

There are also variations pertaining to juvenile detention across the word. In India, the new

1 Course on ‘Office Management and Procedure’ Chd. Admn. Officers+ 20-22 Jan., 2016 Prison Officers

2 Course on ‘Office Management and Procedure’ Chd. Admn. Officers 27-29 Jan. 2016

1 Course on ‘Stress Management’ H.P. Police Officers 01-05 Feb. 20162 Course on ‘Financial Rules’ Chd. Admn. Officers 10-11 Feb., 20163 Course on ‘Financial Rules’ Chd. Admn. Officers 17-18 Feb., 20164 Course on ‘Tendering Process’ Chd. Admn. Officers 24th Feb., 20165 Workshop on ‘Repatriation of Prisoners’ Prison Officers 26th Feb. 2016

1 Course on ‘Tendering Process’ Chd. Admn. Officers 2nd March,20162 Course on ‘Public Procurement Process’ Chd. Admn. Officers 8th March, 20163 Course on ‘Public Procurement Process’ Chd. Admn. Officers 9th March, 20164 Course on ‘Public Procurement Process’ Chd. Admn. Officers 10th March, 20165 Workshop on ‘Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Chd. Police Officers 11th March, 2016

Act, 2015’6 Workshop on ‘Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Chd. Admn. Officers 16th March, 2016

Act, 2015’

1 Workshop on ‘Right to Information Act, 2005’ Prison Officers 07th April, 20162 Workshop on ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Prison Officers 08th April, 2016

Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’3 Course on ‘Human Rights and Custodial Deaths’ H.P. Police Officers 25-29 April, 2016

JANUARY, 2016

FEBRUARY, 2016

MARCH, 2016

APRIL, 2016

CALENDAR OF COURSES / WORKSHOPS FOR PRISON, POLICE OFFICERS & OFFICERS OF CHD. ADMN.DURING THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY, 2016 to APRIL, 2016

Sr. Name of Courses / Workshops Course for Dates No. of No. Officers 1 Two Courses on ‘Office Management and

Procedure’ Prison Officers & 27-29 Jan. 2016 322 Course on ‘Stress Management’ H.P. Police officers 01-05 Feb. 2016 173 Two Courses on ‘Financial Rules’ Chd. Admn. Officers 10-11 Feb., 2016 19

& 17-18 Feb., 2016 174 Two Courses on ‘Tendering Process’ Chd. Admn. Officers 24th Feb., 2016 14

& 2nd March, 2016 155 Workshop on ‘Repatriation of Prisoners’ Prison Officers 26th Feb. 2016 136 Three Course on ‘Public Procurement Process’ Chd. Admn. Officers 8th March, 2016 22

9th March, 2016 2610th March, 2016 23

7 Workshop on ‘Juvenile Justice (Care and Chd. Police Officers 11th March, 2016 38Protection of Children) Act, 2015’

8 Workshop on ‘Juvenile Justice (Care and Stakeholders of 16th March, 2016 32Protection of Children) Act, 2015’ Chd. Admn.

9 Workshop on ‘Right to Information Act, 2005’ Prison Officers 7th April. 2016 1210 Workshop on ‘Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Prison Officers 8th April, 2016 13

(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2005’11 Course on ‘Human Rights and Custodial Deaths H.P. Police Officers 25-29 April, 2016 14

Chd. Admn. Officers & 20-22 Jan., 2016 51

COURSES / WORKSHOP ORGANIZED IN THE INSTITUTE FROM 01.01.2016 TO 30.04.2016

Details of courses / workshops organized and number of police and prison officerstrained from 01.01.2016 to 30.04.2016

Total police officers trained : 69 Total courses for prison officers : 03Total prison officers trained : 47 Total courses for police officers : 03Others / NGOs / Prosecutors trained : 242 Joint Workshop/Seminar/Course : 01

for Police & Prison Officers & OthersProgrammes for Chandigarh Admn. : 09(out of 9, one course jointly with Prison Officers)

Total officers trained 358 Total courses organized 16

going to be first in the series of training programmes sponsored by the Chandigarh Administration.

Sh. Vijay Dev in his inspiring address said training is very important

component for the development of human resources this is crucial for

good governance well. Proper management of both office procedure and people is important in any organization to achieve its goals. He emphasized 'We have to strive our

he Institute of Correctional Administration (ICA), Sector 26, TChandigarh organized a three

days training programme on 'Office Management inc luding off ice

procedure, noting and drafting & record management' from 20.01.2016 to 22.01.2016 in the Institute for the officers / officials of U.T., Chandigarh as well as for Prison Officers of Punjab and Haryana.

Sh. Vijay Dev, IAS, Adviser to the Administrator, UT, Chandigarh inaugurated this three days training programme. Sh. Anurag Agarwal, IAS, H o m e S e c re ta r y, C h a n d i ga r h Administration-cum-Director, ICA was the Guest of Honour. Sh. Anurag Agarwal welcomed all the participants of this course and he emphasized the need for training for officers / officials of Chandigarh Administration atleast once in two years and he hoped that this training programme would help the officers to update their knowledge and perform their duties efficiently and effectively. He further said that the Institute will play a very crucial role in training of the Chandigarh Administration officials and this is

best to deliver the service and work with efficiency, integrity and positivity'. Regular training for each employee is a necessary and a pre-requisite condition for effective and efficient service delivery. He shared his personal experiences and feedback of the public about government servants. He urged the participants to work in a positive manner and to simplify procedure. His inspiring address motivated the administrative officials to work for citizens-centric governance.

The Institute also successful ly conducted training programmes on Financial Rules, Public Procurement Process and Tendering Process for the Employees of the Chandigarh Administration. The Institute trained 210 employees of the Chandigarh Administration in these programmes. The feedback received from the participants was very good. Various sessions were covered by the eminent guest faculty engaged for the conduct

of above training programmes in the Institute.

Course on 'Stress Management' for Police Officers of Himachal Pradesh:

Activities of the Institute from January to April, 2016

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Sh. Vijay Dev, IAS Adviser to the Administrator and Sh. Anurag Agarwal, IAS Home Secretary UT, Chandigarh inaugurating the Training Program

Sh. Vijay Dev, IAS Adviser to the Administrator Addressing the Participants.

The Inst i tute of Correct ional Administration, Chandigarh organized a training programme on 'Stress Management' for Police Officers of Himachal Pradesh from 01 – 05 February, 2016. The course was inaugurated by Prof. (Dr) Veer Singh, Former Vice Chancellor, NALSAR, Hyderabad and former Director, N a t i o n a l J u d i c i a l A c a d e m y, Chandigarh. The other guest faculty – Dr. K.P. Singh, IPS, Director General of Police (Crimes), Haryana; Sh. A.S. Rai, IPS, Inspector General of Police (Vigilance), Punjab; Sh. Rakesh Malik, IPS (Retd.) Former Director General of Prisons, Haryana; Sh. V.K. Kapoor, IPS (Retd.) Former Addl. Director General of Police, Haryana, Dr. N.K. Sahni; Dr. Reetinder Kohli; Dr. Sohan Singh; Dr. Shilpa Suri; Dr. Nirupa Marwah; Dr. R.K. Sharma; Dr. Kamal Goswami; and Dr. Upneet Lal l i engaged the participants in different sessions. The p a r t i c i p a nt s o f t h i s t ra i n i n g programme appreciated the contents and also for the resource persons. The feedback provided by them was very positive.

Workshop on 'Repatriation of Prisoners' for Prison Officers :

The Inst i tute of Correct ional Administration, Chandigarh organized a one-day Workshop on 'Repatriation

thof Prisoners' for Prison Officers on 26 February, 2016. Dr. K.P. Singh, IPS, Director General of Police (Crimes),

Haryana; Dr. Praveen Kumari Singh, Former Director (SR), Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi and Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director, ICA were the main resource persons who took various sessions during this workshop. During this workshop, the participants were made aware of The Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003 and also the process of repatriation of prisoners and the role of different Governments and issues related to the process. The feedback of the participants about this workshop was highly positive. The officers suggested that they should be updated about countries agreement.

Workshop on 'Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015' for Chd. Police Officers :

T h e I n st i t u te o f C o r re c t i o n a l Administration, Chandigarh organized a one-day Workshop on 'Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 for Chandigarh Police Officers on

th11 March, 2016. 38 Police officers of Chandigarh attended this Workshop. The aim of this Workshop was to sensitize the officers how to deal with children particularly in conflict with law and also sensitized them about the awareness of latest provisions of the new Juvenile Justice Act, 2015'. Dr. K.P. Singh, IPS, Director General of Police (Crimes), Ms. Madhu P. Singh, Judge, Consumer Court Mohali; and Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director, ICA were the main resource persons who took various sessions in this workshop. The feedback of the participants was highly positive and workshop helped to clarify their doubts.

Workshop on 'Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015' for various stakeholders of Chandigarh Administration :

T h e I n st i t u te o f C o r re c t i o n a l Administration, Chandigarh organized a one-day Workshop on 'Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015' for various stakeholders working under the Act such as Child Welfare Committee, Juvenile Justice Board, District Child Protection Unit, Special Juveniles Police Unit, registered Government run and NGOs, Child Care

thInstitutions on 16 March, 2016. 32 officers of Chandigarh attended this

4 5

Workshop. The aim of this Workshop was to sensitize the officers how to deal with children particularly in conflict with law and also sensitized them about the awareness of latest provisions of the new Juvenile Justice Act, 2015'. Dr. K.P. Singh, IPS, Director General of Police (Crimes), Ms. Madhu P. Singh, Judge, Consumer Court Mohali; Dr. Nishtha Jaswal, Professor, Departments of Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh and Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director, ICA were the main resource persons who took various sessions in this workshop.

Workshop on 'Right to Information Act, 2005' for Prison Officers :

The Inst itute of Correct ional Administration, Chandigarh organized a one-day Workshop on 'Right to Information Act, 2005' for Prison

thOfficers on 7 April, 2016. Mrs. Meenaxi Anand Chaudhary, IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Haryana; Dr. K.P. Singh, IPS, Director General of Police (Crimes), Haryana; Sh. B.B. Lall, Former Deputy Secetary, Haryana and Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director, ICA were the main resource persons for this workshop. During this workshop, the participants were sensitized on the provisions of Right to Information Act, 2005. The feedback of the participants about this

workshop was highly positive.

Workshop on 'The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013' for Prison Officers :

T h e I n st i t u te o f C o r re c t i o n a l Administration, Chandigarh organized a one-day Workshop on 'The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace ( P reve nt i o n , P ro h i b i t i o n a n d Redressal) Act, 2015' for Prison

thOfficers on 8 April, 2016. 13 prison officers participated in this training programme. Prof. Nishtha Jaswal, Department of Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh; Prof. Sherry Sabbarwal, Chairperson, Department of Social Work, Panjab University, Chandigarh and Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director,

ICA were the resource persons for this workshop. Various topics such as gender sensitization, provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 and procedure and mechanisms for dealing with cases of sexual harassment of women at workplace were briefly discussed with the participants.

Course on 'Human Rights and Custodial Deaths' for Police Officers of Himachal Pradesh :

T h e I n s t i t u t e o f C o r r e c t i o n a l Administration, Chandigarh organized a training programme on 'Human Rights and Custodial Deaths' for Police Officers of Himachal Pradesh from 25 – 29 April, 2016. 14 police officers participated in this training programme. Various topics were covered by the Eminent Faculty - Prof. (Dr) Veer Singh, Former Vice Chancellor, NALSAR, Hyderabad Ms. Anita Punj, IPS, Inspector General of Police Punjab; Dr. Deepa Singh, Advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh; Ms. Ranjana Chauhan, S.P. Human Rights and Lokayukta, Himachal Pradesh; Prof. A.K. Attri, Dr. Krishan Vij, Sh. Jagdip Singh, Sh. Dinesh Dwesar, Dr. Kamal Goswami; and Dr. Upneet Lalli took various sessions in th is t ra in ing programme. The participants of this training programme appreciated the contents and the resource persons as they got practice tips for effectively protecting human right of those in their custody.

Prof. Veer Singh, Former Vice Chancellor, NALSAR at the inaugural functionProf. Devi Sirohi, Chairperson CCPCR, Chandigarh with

the participants of Chandigarh Police

Chandigarh Police Officers at the workshop on Child RightsDr. K.P. Singh, IPS, DGP, Haryana Addressing the Participants in

the workshop on Juvenile Justice

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end up starting a new gang after

release. Even when they do not go

back to criminal activities, police

harassment makes it impossible for

them to lead a normal life as they are

the first to be hauled up or

interrogation when a crime happens.

No wonder then that hundreds of

prisoners come back to jail for repeat

offences.

However, if prisoners are given jobs

in time, it would not only help them

but the society in general. The

prisons department has now

designated welfare officers for each

jail as well as its headquarters These

officers will keep the resumes of

released prisoners with them, which

will highlight their educational

qualifications and skills picked up

through training programmes in

prison.

Interestingly, the jail authorities have

also spoken to banks to provide loans

to prisoners in need of financial

assistance. One of the banks has

even agreed to provide loans without

collateral.

(Source: Times of India - 02/11/2015)

World Prison Brief.

There are more than 2.2 million

prisoners in the United States of

America, more than 1.65 million in

China [whose population is 4.3 times

larger] (plus an unknown number in

pre-trial detention or 'administrative

detention'), 640,000 in the Russian

Federation, 607,000 in Brazil,

418,000 in India, 311,000 in

Thailand, 255,000 in Mexico and

225,000 in Iran.

The countries with the highest prison

population rate – the number of

prisoners per 100,000 of the national

population – are Seychelles (799 per

100,000), followed by the United

States (698), St. Kitts & Nevis (607),

Turkmenistan (583), U.S. Virgin

Islands (542), Cuba (510), El Salvador

(492), Guam – U.S.A. (469), Thailand

(461), Bel ize (449), Russian

Federation (445), Rwanda (434) and

British Virgin Islands (425). The

world prison population rate, based

on United Nations estimates of

national population levels, is 144 per

100,000. The female pr ison

population total has increased by

50% since about 2000, while the

equivalent figure for the male prison

population is 18%. The female total

has increased proportionately more

than the male total in every

continent. Consequently, the

proportion of women and girls in the

total world prison population has

risen from 5.4% in about 2000 to

6.8% in the latest figures available.

(Source :- ICPS-2015)

PRISON DISTURBANCES IN UP

Prison Riots

In Varanasi Jail in India, prisoners

held the Prison Superintendent

Sh. Ashish Tiwari and another

senior official Vijay Kumar Rai for

six hours following a clash with staff

over several issues, including the

"poor quality" of food served to

them. He was freed after the

district administration assured the

prisoners that they will look into

their allegations. The Deputy Jailor

Sh. Ashish Kumar was seriously

injured in the riot and was taken to

hospital. At least a dozen other

people, including prison guards,

were also injured in the fight. The

prisoners had taken control of a

section of the prison barracks,

where they were holding the jail

superintendent captive. The

prisoners also snatched weapons

off the guards and several shots

were heard from inside the jail. A

magisterial inquiry was ordered.

Prison clashes and riots are a very

serious issue and prisons need to be

safe for both the inmates and the

staff. Such incidents again focus on

the need for prison reforms. There

is also a need to learn from them so

that they are not repeated again.

------

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GOOD PRISON PRACTICES

This Newsletter shares the good

prison practices related to prison

diversion and also access to

technology for the prisoners and

staff.

Prison Diversion Programs in US

U.S.A. In the US, the cities of New

York, St Louis and New Orleans are

among 11 jurisdictions pledging to

reduce their jail populations by as

much as a third, in exchange for

grant funding aimed at curbing

mass incarceration. The Safety and

Justice Challenge selected the

cities to receive between $1.5 and

$3.5 mi l l ion each towards

diversion programs, training and

other interventions meant to curb

o v e r - re l i a n c e o n p re - t r i a l

incarceration. The initiative, if

successful, would cut thousands

f rom the ja i l ro l l s o f the

p a r t i c i p a t i n g c i t i e s a n d

j u r i s d i c t i o n s . T h e U S j a i l

population has more than tripled

since the 1980s, mirroring the

attendant increase in the prison

population, although public

attention on the phenomenon of

mass incarceration has largely

overlooked jails in favour of

prisons. Both disproportionately

affect black Americans and Latinos,

who make up 51 per cent of the jail

population, 58 per cent of the

prison population and roughly 30

per cent of the general population.

Internet Access for Prisoners

Belgium : A world-first system

called Prison Cloud has been

introduced in a prison in Antwerp,

Belgium allowing prisoners to

access the internet, make calls and

download films from the privacy of

their own cell. The system allows

prisoners to access leisure and

education opportunities as well as

making the prison run more

efficiently. Every prisoner has a USB

stick, a username and password.

They can access the internet, but

only certain sites. Facebook is not

allowed, for example. They can also

make calls from their cell rather than

go onto the landing to use the

phone, they can download films and

music, and they can play computer

games. They can order extra items

from the canteen, ask for library

books, officially communicate with

prison staff and see their court

records.

Personal Computers & Tablet for

Prisoners

Netherlands : The Dutch prison

service is planning to replace

televisions and prison libraries with

t a b l e t c o m p u t e r s , t h e A D

newspaper has reported. The paper

says the service aims to provide

thousands of prisoners with a tablet

so they can watch television, follow

courses and buy essentials from

their own cells. The move is part of

efforts to get prisoners to take more

responsibility for themselves, a

justice ministry spokesman told the

AD. 'It is becoming increasingly

important to be able to take care of

yourself', the spokesman said. 'We

want to impress that on prisoners as

well, so they can organize their own

visits and buy their own supplies'.

Prisoners will not have free access

to the internet and will only be able

to use approved websites, he said.

(Source : International Prison

News Digest of ICPR)

HYDERABAD: In a new decision that

could see a fall in The crime graph, the

Telangana prisons department is

planning to approach corporate firms

in the city to hire released convicts

who have shown good behaviour.

The department has planned a

meeting of representatives from

different companies to brief them

about how they could employ

reformed prisoners. As many as 200

corporate houses have been

informed about a database of such

prisoners "We have invited corporate

houses for a meeting to tell them

about the employability of released

prisoners with good conduct,"

director general of prisons, S P Singh

told TOI. "Under their corporate

social responsibility, many companies

want to v is i t ja i l s , organize

entertainment or come up with other

ideas on what to do for prisoners.

What's needed is not charity, but

provision of jobs for released

prisoners so that they are allowed to

live with dignity," he added.

One of the major factors behind

prisoners returning to a life of crime is

the lack of steady, dignified jobs for

them. There are cases where inmates

strike up friend ships in prisons and

Varanasi Prison Riots