Introduction
Philosopher of the ancient period Aristotle once said, “A man is a social animal” every individual exists and cooperates with each other thereby resulting in formation of society and its culture, civilization, beliefs, and ideas. Every country has its own provisions normally meant for harboring peaceful cohabitation between diversities and in that particular nation anyone who violates these laws are punished. Most of the time, the general public and the offenders themselves forget that prison is not just there to punish others and them but also to reform them back into society. It is not an epiphany to know that prison conditions in India are miserable. Prisoners live in inhuman conditions. Amidst this problem, the concept of prison advocacy has erupted and developed over the years. This article takes a peek into the purpose and development of prison advocacy and how it has affected the Indian scenario.
Evolution Of Prison Advocacy
In the 18th century a group called Quakers founded the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. The main agenda of this group was to highlight the inhuman conditions in which prisoners were kept. In that period there was known punishment which was called “iron shackle” that was put on prisoners. However, Quakers were protesting against it and demanding other forms of punishment, such as solitary confinement. Despite the colonial foundations for correctional reform in India, the first seed for prison advocacy was indeed sown when the British regime introduced the Prisons Act in 1894. However, this act worked for colonizers not for inmates and has nothing to do with their benevolence. But over time some of the recommendations such as 1835 Lord Macauly’s recommendations of the substandard condition of Indian prisons led to the formation of the Prison Discipline Committee. Later in the post-independence All-India Jail Manual Committee in 1952 gave provisions for providing vocational training and medical care for prisoners. The landmark Supreme Court case of Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration (1980) highlighted the desirability for legal aid for prisoners and recognized the hardships of prisoners because of terrible prison conditions.
Legal Aid Clinics: Catalysts For Prison Reform
The genesis of legal aid clinics is laid by the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, which provided provisions for free legal aid. The majority of the prisoners admitted in jail were not able to afford the expensive legal costs. This act established the provision of availability of easy-to-access legal aid to the needy. Legal aid clinics appear as an important tool to bring concerns with regard to the unfair treatment and requirements of inmates into the public agenda. Similar is the decision made in the case of Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary (Bihar) the Supreme Court stated regarding legal aid clinics that they symbolize the provision of a fair trial.
Gender-Specific Advocacy: Women In Prisons
It is a known fact that India is a patriarchal society. Women have faced discrimination for mere existence as a different gender. But the challenges heighten when crime rates, even in prison, have been noticed. Menstrual products for example, pregnancy help and other basic needs are often severely lacking for women. In accordance with the latest statistics, there are around 1650 women who are imprisoned and approximately 1,401 prisons in total of which only 34 are for women only. In common with the rest of the nation, only a small number of female staff are hired in Maharashtra due to issues concerning their safety. The issues mentioned above could not be managed properly by the Indian legal framework even though by progressive amendments and reforms.
Juvenile Justice And Advocacy
The Children’s Act of 1960 provided the structure on education of juvenile offenders and welfare over punishment. Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 is in par with international standard particularly with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which preferred rehabilitation over punitive punishments. The Kakoo vs The State Of Himachal Pradesh case is of a 13-year-old boy accused of raping a 2-year-old girl. As to provisions of Sections 83 and 84 IPC, under which the minors cannot claim the same treatment as adults in consideration of criminal acts. Responding to juvenile cases, the court emphasized the need to take into account significant humanitarian and reformist approaches. In 2015, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act marked major changes in the methods of young criminals. The bill allows adolescents between the ages of 16 and 18, due to adult crimes, to try because of adults, reflecting increasing concerns about serious crimes committed by older teenagers.
Overcrowding And The Role Of NGOs
Indian prison people have reached a critical level, which has a serious impact on prison and prisoners treatment conditions. Organizations that are not a country play an important role in promoting reforms and humanized personal prison experiences. At the end of 2022, the average occupation level of Indian prison reports was 131% with approximately 573,220 prisoners, and their identity was 436,266. State of Maharashtra v. Prabhakar Pandurang (2000) held that overcrowding results in a prisoners’ rights violation and pointed to the fact that the conditions in the prisons must be consistent with international standards. The court required states to fix the constitutional violation under which prisoners live in inhumane conditions because of overcrowding.
Fate of poor prisoners is being addressed by Socio-Legal Information Centre (SLIC), efficient nonprofits that work to enhance the conditions of jails and providing an opportunity to get out of jail. They supply undertrial inmates as they make bail applications and also give legal counsel. The activists have been able to secure the release of thousands of prisoners across various states within India. They home enlighten people about the rights of inmates and their suffering through partnering with state funded legal services to provide due legal assistance as soon as an arrest is made. Other organizations such as Humanizing Lives functioning with the India Vision Foundation have primarily focused on mental health and inmate resocialization. Some of them include of all their initiatives, Mental Health seminars as an avenue for self and emotional support for inmates as they traverse through dealing with alienation, nervousness, other facets of mental illness and struggles.
Rehabilitation Vs. Punishment
Today, in the law school, one of the topics that has been greatly under discussion is the Rehabilitation/Punishment debate. Despite the fact that, the use of restorative justice system as a tool of reducing Recidivism rates and reform offenders into better members of the society. Despite the obvious advantages of rehabilitation, a number of obstacles prevent its efficient application. In the case of Gopalan Nair vs. State of Kerala AIR (1974), the Supreme Court explained that juvenile offenders shall receive different treatment from the adults. The court found that juvenile provisions that were intended for adults do not cover juveniles; the provisions include those in the Probation of Offenders Act 1958. While delivering this ruling, it was evident that there was a very serious need to have juvenile laws as an entirely different justice system of reform rather than punish, which is different from the adult criminal law system. Due to most of the prisons lacking funds and required personnel, it becomes very much a challenge to make sure the inmates are taken through enough of these rehabilitation programs. Emigration reforms to address us to more merciful policies are defeated by the punitively minded populace. Therefore, if there are regulations that encourage rehabilitation, there can always be disparities due to disparity in their implementation.
Conclusion
Prison advocacy turns prisons from punitive establishment to rehabilitating one by offering opportunities for legal support that are missing, prison overcrowding, gender disparities, and the effects of imprisonment on mental health. Wherever the policies and frameworks encompass the juveniles, it for sure included the male and female juveniles at equality. The role of advocating, as well as the support services, should be taken up by the NGOs in better capacity. Other advocates of the systemic change again include having a one-package reintegration program and also accountability in prison. Continued efforts are essential to ensure that the rights and dignity of all incarcerated individuals are upheld while addressing the systemic issues to promote reformative justice as well as an inmate’s reintegration into society.
