Importance of Rehabilitation over Punishment: A Legal Perspective

INTRODUCTION

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.”― Nelson Mandela 

This statement highlights the moral responsibility that our society exhibits to treat even its most marginalised individuals with dignity and humanity. Rehabilitation embodies this humane approach because it recognises that even those who have erred deserve a chance to reform and reintegrate into society.

A study was conducted on 188 prisoners to see the impact of academic education and vocational training on them at Central Jail No. 14 in Mandoli, Delhi, and it was found that prisoners’ participation in these types of programs increases the chances of reduction of recidivism rates upon their release. This blog advocates for the rehabilitation of Indian prisoners and how we can facilitate their reintegration into our society.

We will also discuss the constitutional provisions, statutory frameworks, international guidelines, and case laws to understand how our courts interpret laws related to prisoners, followed by the challenges that we need to overcome to implement rehabilitation programs in India. The concept of the rehabilitation approach contrasts with traditional punishment strategies, which are based on discipline. In simple words, while punishment and deterrence are the main goals of our penal measures, rehabilitation is more of a humane approach, which demonstrates the possibility of change and human development by recognizing that many prisoners can rehabilitate themselves and make a positive contribution to society when given the opportunity and support. There are famous Nelson Mandela Rules, which are also known as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which state that imprisonment should be a means to an end, not an end in itself. Now, India’s commitment to these programs is also based on such international principles, which emphasize the importance of equal justice and reform strategies in terms of both rehabilitation and punishment.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK SUPPORTING REHABILITATION:

Rehabilitation in the Indian prison system is supported through various legal frameworks such as constitutional provisions, judicial judgments, amendments, and various policies and schemes.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS:

The constitution of India provides the base for the rehabilitation of prisoners through fundamental rights, directive principles, and fundamental duties.

Article 21 of the Indian constitution, which gives us the Right to life and personal liberty, has been interpreted by the Supreme Court of India in the case of Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration to include the right to live with dignity, which extends to prisoners also, it was also held that the conditions of the prisons must also respect human dignity. Article 39A talks about equal justice and free legal aid, through this, it is ensured that everyone, including the marginalised and the poor, gets free legal aid and fair rehabilitation opportunities. Article 42 reads, “The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief” supports vocational training and skill development programs in prisons. Furthermore, Article 46, which talks about the promotion of education and the economic interests of weaker sections, encourages educational programs for inmates to facilitate reintegration into society.

JUDICIAL INTERPRETATIONS:

There have been many key judgements that have highlighted the constitutional rights of prisoners the court has also mentioned in several such cases about the proper treatment of the inmates like in the case of Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, treatment in prisons was stressed in the decision by stating prisoners must be treated with openness and respect and have basic rights apart from essential reforms in the penal system. In another case, Rakesh Kaushik v. B.L Vig, the court underscored the purpose of imprisonment, arguing that it should not solely be punitive but also aimed at individual rehabilitation. In order to facilitate rehabilitation, the case of Charles Sobraj v. Supdt.Central Jail Tihar, outlined the need for court control of prison operations, stating that inmates should not be placed in situations that would exacerbate their tendencies or crime. A very interesting concept of open-air prisons was highlighted in the case of Ramamurthy v. State of Karnataka, in which the Supreme Court recommended improvement of prison conditions and enhancing rehabilitation efforts, for example, establishing open-air prisons.

STATUTORY FRAMEWORKS:

Now, let's see what are the statutory framework regarding this matter. Although the primary statutes lack comprehensive rehabilitation provisions, subsequent amendments and policies have attempted to address this gap. Section 59 of the Prisons Act of 1894 empowers the state to make rules and guidelines regarding prison administration. The primary focus of this act is on maintaining order and discipline within prisons, and it lacks provisions that are related to rehabilitation. However, some trivial yet significant steps were taken, which showed a positive sign.In 1900 The Prisoners Act of 1900, for the first time, talked about adequate food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. It somehow facilitated reintegrated programs by allowing for the transfer and parole of prisoners. On January 21, 2016, the Ministry of Home Affairs approved The Model Prison Manual, which consists of 32 chapters and talks about provisions for skill development, education, and mental health programs. This manual stresses the importance of rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners into society. It outlines procedures for educational programs, vocational training, and mental health support. Despite such positive developments were taken, their implementation has not been consistent or effective across many states of our country. Many prisons in India still struggle with overcrowding, inadequate facilities, insufficient resources and other basic problems to carry out rehabilitation programs effectively.

CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING REHABILITATION:

Rehabilitation programs are undoubtedly very humane and forward-thinking approaches, but we need to tackle some major challenges; otherwise, these rules and guidelines will be only on paper. In India, one of the major concerns that we need to tackle for proper rehabilitation programs is prison overcrowding. The latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (“NCRB”), released in 2022, shows that the actual number of prisoners in Indian prisons was 573,220, whereas the official capacity of Indian prisons is only 436,266, this report clearly shows that Indian prisons are overly crowded. Rehabilitation programs need an adequate infrastructure where inmates can receive vocational training, psychological counselling, and other reformative services, but in such overcrowded conditions, it becomes inevitable to implement such reformative measures.

Apart from this, India also lacks trained professionals such as psychologists, counsellors and vocational trainers who are very vital for effective and smooth rehabilitation programs.  However, training such professionals requires time, effort, dedicated resources, and proper government initiative, which cannot be done overnight. Redevelopment programs require significant financial investment in education facilities for prisoners and vocational courses, but if we look at the latest data of PSI (Prisoners Statistics India), it shows that the budgetary allocation of prisoners is directed towards maintaining basic amenities such as food, clothing, medical, etc. the budget allocation of the financial year 2022-2023 was 2528.45 crore rupees, but from this more than half of it, i.e., 52.5% was spent on food.  After food, medical expenses were given priority, followed by clothing and then welfare activities. The budget allocation for vocational/ educational was the least among all the columns and was reduced by 32.8%  from the financial year of 2021-22 to 2022-23. 

CONCLUSION:

There exists a necessity to shift from a punishment-centric approach to focusing more on rehabilitation in India. We examined constitutional provisions, judicial interpretations, and statutory frameworks related to rehabilitation. By examining this, we can conclude that rehabilitation is not just a moral obligation but also a legal imperative that aims to reintegrate offenders into society. Furthermore, highlighting the prison overcrowding, lack of trained professionals, and inadequate budget allocation, this article provides a nuanced understanding of the challenges that hinder the effective implementation of rehabilitation programs in India.