Prison Reforms (PR)
‘Prisons’/’persons detained therein’ is a “State-List” subject. Administration and management of prisons and prisoners is therefore the responsibility of respective State Governments/ UT administrations.
However, given the significance of prisons in the Criminal Justice System, the Ministry of Home Affairs provides regular guidance and support to States/UTs on various issues relating to prison administration.
States/ UTs are provided assistance in the form of financial aid for technology driven projects and by sharing contemporary best practices/ guidelines on varied aspects of efficient prison administration.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had prepared a Model Prison Manual, 2016 with the objective of ensuring uniformity in the basic principles governing prisons and had shared it with all States/ UTs for adopting it in their respective jurisdictions.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had also reviewed pre-independence era acts, ‘The Prisons Act, 1894’, ‘The Prisoners Act, 1900’ and ‘The Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1950’ and prepared a ‘Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act’ in the year 2023 with the objective of holistically addressing all relevant issues relating to prison administration. The ‘Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act’ has been shared with all States and Union Territories on 10.5.2023 with the request to take advantage from the same and enact a Prison Act in their jurisdiction, with such modifications which they may consider necessary.
The Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003 has been enacted with the objective of providing relief to foreign prisoners in Indian jails and vice-versa to enable them to serve their remaining jail terms in their home countries. The Act came into force on 01.01.2004.
The Government of India has signed Agreements with 31 countries namely Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, Estonia, France, Hong Kong, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom and Vietnam. In addition to the above, India has signed two multilateral conventions on transfer of sentenced persons, namely Inter-American Convention on Serving Criminal Sentences Abroad and Council of Europe Convention on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, by virtue of which sentenced persons of member States and other countries which have signed/ acceded to these conventions can seek transfer to their native countries to serve the remainder of their sentence in their home country.
