The country’s jails are spilling with prisoners, thanks to an outdated law that prescribes exactly two types of punishment- imprisonment or fine for a range.
NEW DELHI: The country’s jails are spilling with prisoners, thanks to an outdated law that prescribes exactly two types of punishment- imprisonment or fine for a range of crimes, whether they be dacoity, rape, ticketless travel or traffic violation.
The present laws are so all-encompassing that even if one cannot pay the fine imposed, one has to go to jail. There are no alternative methods of penalising a person in the country today.
“We could have found innovative ways to punish. There is no need to incarcerate people for each and every offence,” said prison expert Kiran Bedi.
Bedi also cited examples of countries where the law provides for community social work as punishment for first-time offenders and those who commit minor offences.
“Those involved in road safety violations for instance could be asked to do social work or be forced to undertake social responsibility,” she suggested.
Prem Krishan Sharma of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), elaborating on the negative impact of compulsory imprisonment said, “There should be separate detention homes for undertrials so that they do not come into contact with criminals and become criminals themselves.”
Exposing the ‘politics’ that is at work in a prison, Sharma said “According to the law, undertrials cannot be asked to work, but in jails they are forced to. Convicts, who enjoy the position of a ‘senior’, often ask them to do their work. The caste system is also prevalent and not all offenders are equipped to fight against it, Sharma said.
Coming down heavily on forcible incarceration for any and every kind of offence, Bedi said, “The prison not only takes away liberty and dignity but also contaminates,” she said. The atmosphere and experience of jail, the friendships and contacts with hardened criminals, can turn a petty offender into a criminal or anti-socia, she warned.
“Prison should be the last option. It should be reserved for serial offenders. The focus should be on ‘decontaminating’ the jails, not let them remain breeding grounds,” she said.
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