Report, prepared by Centre for Research & Planning, the research wing of Supreme Court of India, seeks to highlight the complexities of India's prison system, with a focus on the potential for technology-driven solutions.
Key insights of the report
- Stereotyping: Prison manuals often refer to essential sanitation and conservancy work as "menial" or "degrading," perpetuating a hierarchical view of labour.
- Bail Rejection: Rejection rate for bail applications is high (32.3% in Sessions Courts and 16.2% in Magisterial Courts).
- Slow Trial: Over 52% of cases where accused were in custody for more than a year were still pending at evidence stage in 2023.
- Others: Persistence of Manual Scavenging in prisons; Division of prison work based on caste system (held unconstitutional in Sukanya Shantha Case); Underutilization of open prisons etc.
Use of Technology for Prison Reforms
- E-prisons: Developed by National Informatics Centre to integrate all activities related to prison and prisoner management.
- Model Prison and Correctional Services Act, 2023: Introduced the use of electronic monitoring technology as a condition for granting prison leaves for prisoners.
- FASTER (Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records) system of Supreme Court resolved delay in communication of bail orders from courts to prison.
- Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS): It can create an automatic channel between courts, police and prisons and reduce unjustified delay in custody cases.
