A real-time event which is inspiring for others & has ethical inclination

SHEETAL BARSE VS. STATE OF RAJASTHAN 

Being the daughter of a police inspector, Sheetal Barse worked as a freelance journalist contributing to various newspapers and magazines in the city, including Femina and Illustrated Weekly.

She, however, did not limit herself to reporting on issues but went beyond to pursue them beyond the field of journalism.

• From her field visits to data collated from various government authorities, she filed petitions in the High Court as well as Supreme Court.
• An activist and journalist, she is often credited with introducing the concept of child rights in India. She led many public interest litigation cases before the Supreme Court of India including complaints of custodial violence to women prisoners in the police lock-up in the city of Bhilwara.
• The petitioner stated in her letter that she interviewed five out of fifteen women prisoners in the bhilwara Central Jail with the permission of the Inspector General of Prisons between 11th and 17th May 1982 and five out of them told her that they had been physically assaulted by the police in the police lockup. 

ISSUES related to the Case

1. Whether the cruel treatment which the female prisoners have to deal with is defensible or not?
2. Whether the ill treatment of the female prisoners by officials can be considered as a violation of the rights enshrined under Article 21 of Constitution or not?
3. Whether it is the obligation of the State government to provide legal counsel to the prisoners or not?

Ruling of the Case

• Our constitution gives us Article 39 A, one of the basic principles of state policy, which specifies that the state must offer free legal assistance to its citizens in order to ensure that everyone has access to justice in the country.
• Not only does Article 21 guarantee the right to life and liberty, it also guarantees equality before the law under Article 14 of the constitution.
• The court ruled that because it is required under Articles 14, 19, and 39A of the Indian Constitution, impoverished people who are being detained should be given legal help by the state.
• The Court instructed the social workers to report on any ill treatment of female detainees in the jails. In order to set up “legal aid organizations'' at the High Court and District levels, the Supreme Court issues a notification to the Inspector of different Jails. According to Section 160(1) of the CrPC, only female police officials are permitted to check a female suspect.

Sheetal Barse wrote a letter narrating the incidents of custodial violence against women prisoners in a Bhilwara Police Lockup.

• The court recognised the journalist’s letter as a Writ Petition and served notice on the state of Rajasthan, as well as law enforcement officers such the Superintendent of the Bhilwara Central Jail and Inspector General of Prisons, Rajasthan.
• The Court in order to verify the allegation of a letter possession directed Dr. Desai of the college of social work in Bhilwara to visit the Bhilwara central jail and interview women prisoners in the jail. The report affirming the facts of the letter provided a detailed account of the problems and difficulties faced by women prisoners.
• It also narrated an incident of two foreign national women prisoners being duped and defrauded by a lawyer. The Director of the College of Social Work in Bhilwara, Geeta Niketan, was instructed to speak with the female convicts alone in order to determine whether the claims made to the petitioner were true or not.
• Saraswati and Pushpa Devi were the two major female inmates; they were reportedly abused and tortured while being held in a police cell. The director was given the go-ahead to undertake the assigned work with all necessary resources provided by the State Government and the Inspector General of Prisons.

Measures taken in Safeguarding the Rights of Prisoners :

• The Supreme Court of India in various cases has taken a serious note of the cruel treatment of prisoners and has issued appropriate directions to prison and police authorities for safeguarding the rights of the prisoners and persons in police lock–up of the country.
• The Supreme Court read the right against torture into Articles 14 and 19 of the Indian Constitution. The court observed that “the treatment of a human being which offends human dignity, imposes avoidable torture and reduces the man to the level of a beast would certainly be arbitrary and can be questioned under Article 14” of the Indian constitution. 

CONCLUSION DRAWN

The Honourable Court held that absence of access to the law to prisoners would jeopardize the Right to equality which is found in Article 14 and the Right to life and personal liberty is protected and mentioned in Article 21 of our Constitution.

“Imagine the helpless condition of a prisoner who is lodged in a jail who does not know whom to turn for help in order to protect himself against torture, ill-treatment and harassment at the hands of his custodians. It is therefore absolutely important that legal assistance must be made available to prisoners in jails whether they be under-trial or the convicted prisoners.”

The court issued the following guidelines with regard to protection to the women prisoners in police lock-ups in the country-

1. The court directed that four or five police lock-ups should be selected in reasonably good localities where only female suspects should be kept and they should be guarded by female constables only. Female suspects should not be kept in police lock-ups in which male suspects are also detained.
2. The Court further directed that interrogation of females should be carried out only in the presence of female police officers or constables.

There is no society without crimes or criminals anywhere, hence Crime should be rooted along with the criminals.

In 2016, the Ministry of Home Affairs released the Model Prison Manual, which aimed to standardize prison management and improve the condition of the prisoners in the country. The Government of India has taken several measures to resolve these kinds of issues in recent years.

There are about 4 lakh prisoners in 1,401 prison institutions all over India. Over the years, several efforts have been made to bring about changes in the prison system, but the progress has been relatively slow. 

Some measures that can be taken to improve their condition may include 

1. Educational and vocational training programs for them
2. Mental health facilities for them
3. Improving the jail facilities (food , sanitation, hygiene) for prisoners 
4. Reconstruction of jail staff officials 
5. Taking initiatives to improve the health of prisoners
6. Establishment of a specialized independent body for the welfare of prisoners in the entire country.