From custodial deaths to jail overcrowding, safety of women prisoners and treatment of diseases like HIV, the Calcutta High Court has taken a tough stand on the overall infrastructure of the state’s prisons. The court issued several strict directions to the state government in a case related to the rights of prisoners and protection of infrastructure and sought a detailed report. A division bench of Justice Debanshu Basak and Justice Mohammad Sabbar Rashidi made it clear that the state government will have to submit a full report on all these issues within the stipulated time.
The court has been seeking an account of custodial deaths since 2016. The state’s report to the court only includes deaths in custody from 2022 to January 2026, which the court is not satisfied with. The High Court ordered that details of custodial deaths between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2021 should be included in the next report. The board directed the member-secretaries of the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority to submit a complete list of district wise custodial deaths from January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2026 along with the names and addresses of the deceased. The court directed the District Legal Services Authority to take an active role in providing compensation to the families of the deceased prisoners and sought an account of the progress of the compensation in the next hearing.
The bench also expressed deep concern over acute staff shortage in state prisons. According to official reports, the total number of sanctioned posts in the state is 4,789 but only 3,322 are currently working, meaning 1,467 important posts are vacant. The court directed the government to submit a roadmap for filling up the vacancies in the next report. The court also criticized the state for overcrowding inmates. Statistics show that the state’s 61 prisons have a capacity of 21,929 inmates, but currently house 23,886. The court also sought a definite timetable for the state government’s plan to build a new jail to deal with the situation. They were asked to provide long-term plans for the possibility of future inmate population growth.
The High Court has also issued highly sensitive directions regarding the protection of women prisoners. The next report should clearly state whether separate entry and exit for male and female prisoners are monitored by CCTV and whether there are separate secret rooms for screening of female prisoners. At the same time, the court is taking very seriously the allegation that some female prisoners tested HIV positive while in custody. The Calcutta High Court has issued strict orders to the state government to provide details of the exact number of inmates in jails suffering from the disease and what measures have been taken to treat them.