Counting deaths in India’s prisons

Why in the News?

As per the Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms, suicide was found to be the leading cause of ‘unnatural’ deaths (deaths other than ageing or illnesses) among Indian prisoners.

• Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of suicides between 2017 and 2021.
• The no. of custodial deaths has seen a steady rise since 2019, and recorded the highest number of deaths so far in 2021.
• The no. of natural deaths (due to ageing and illnesses) stood at 1,879 people in 2021

How are prison deaths classified?

1. The Prison Statistics India (PSI) report published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), identifies prison deaths are identified as ‘natural’ or ‘unnatural’, every year.
2. PSI reports that in 2021, a total of 2,116 prisoners died in judicial custody, with almost 90% of cases recorded as natural deaths.
3. With increasing prison population, the recorded natural deaths have increased from 1,424 in 2016 to 1,879 in 2021.
4. Natural deaths are classified as Ageing and illness, while the latter is further classified into diseases such as heart conditions, HIV, tuberculosis, and cancer.
5. ‘Unnatural’ deaths are classified into:
   1. suicide (due to hanging, poisoning, self-inflicted injury, drug overdose, electrocution, etc.) 
   2. death due to inmates, assault by outside elements, fire, negligence or excesses
   3. Accidental deaths such as natural calamities (earthquakes, snakebites, drowning, accidental fall, burn injury, drug/alcohol consumption, etc.).

6. A report by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) indicates that suicide rate among inmates was more than twice the rate recorded in the general population.

What have the courts said?

1. The Supreme Court judgment by Justice Lokur noted that
   1. The NCRB’s distinction between natural and unnatural deaths is “unclear.”
   2. For instance, will a death due to a lack of proper/timely medical attention, be classified as a natural death [due to illness] or an unnatural death [due to negligence] is unclear.
2. The prison deaths are largely under-reported and rarely investigated, which has resulted in classifying majority of deaths as ‘natural’.
3. High occupancy rate of prisons.
   1. PSI report classified deaths due to COVID-19 as ‘natural’ deaths.
   2. At that time, the occupancy rate of prisons was 118% of their capacity and just one staff member was available to look after 219 inmates, against sanctioned strength of medical staff of 1:125.
   3. Only 5% of expenditure is spent on medical facilities, as per the PSI 2021 report.
4. The issue of custodial deaths.
5. The infrastructural deficiencies act as both cause and effect for neglect of the health of individuals in jail custody.
   1. Neglect shall include medical, psychological or a continued denial of access to healthcare, food or safety.
   2. Insensitive mindset of the police authorities as well as the jail authorities is also a reason for the neglect.

How are deaths investigated?

1. In cases of Custodial death, it should be intimated within 24 hours, followed by post-mortem reports, magisterial inquest reports or videography reports of the post-mortem.
2. If negligence is found to be the reason for custodial death as per enquiry by the Commission, it can recommend authorities of Central/State Governments for paying compensation to the Next of Kin (NoK) and also for initiation of disciplinary proceedings/prosecution against the erring public servant.
   1. A Lok Sabha question in 2022 revealed that only one ‘disciplinary action’ was taken between 2021-22 against an “erring official.”
3. The Code of Criminal Procedure, in cases of custodial rape and death, requires compulsory judicial magisterial inquiry in place of an executive magistrate inquiry. 
   1. This was diluted in 2010, when the National Human Rights Commission weakened the legal requirement by stating that inquiry by a judicial magistrate is “not mandatory” when there is no suspicion or foul play.

What has the government done so far?

1. The Supreme Court judgment (1996):
   1. It noted that there is a social obligation towards prisoners’ health as they suffer from a “double handicap”
      1. Prisoners do not enjoy the access to medical expertise akin to free citizens.
      2. Because of the conditions of their imprisonment, inmates are exposed to more health hazards than free citizens.
2. The Model Prison Manual of 2016 and the Mental Healthcare Act of 2017:
   1. It emphasises inmates’ right to healthcare, which includes
      1. Adequate investment in healthcare facilities
      2. Setting up mental health units
      3. Training officers to provide basic and emergency care
      4. Formulating suicide prevention programmes
3. The Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms made similar recommendations.

Way forward:

1. Ensuring adequate staff by filling the existing vacancies.

• The NHRC recommended filling positions of “Prison Welfare Officers, Probation Officers, Psychologists, and Medical Staff”, with states like Bihar and Uttarakhand having over 60% of positions lying vacant. 

2. To “reduce the feeling of isolation” and “possibility of harmful activity”, inmates have to allowed to “adequate number of telephones” with friends and family and allowed access to newspapers or periodicals.
3. To prevent suicides,
   1. A strict check on tools such as ropes, glasses, wooden ladders, pipes shall be required.
   2. initial mental health screening at the time of entry into jail
   3. installing CCTV cameras to monitor high-risk inmates, balancing the rights of prisoners against heightened surveillance.