Judgment

Mr. Vinod S. Bhardwaj, J (Oral):- “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 Rolihlahla Mandela

1. The Constitution of India mandates equality before the law and equal protection of laws for every individual within the nation, a principle that extends to prisoners as well, who possesses certain guaranteed rights and must be treated with respect. The judiciary in India, including the esteemed Supreme Court, has time and again acknowledged and underscored the essential rights of prisoners. The Apex Court in Re- Inhumane Conditions in 1382 Prisoners dated 05.02.2016, W.P. (C) No. 406 of 2013 has explicitly stated that, "there could be several factors that lead a prisoner to commit a crime but nevertheless a prisoner is required to be treated as a human being entitled to all the basic human rights, human dignity and human sympathy."

2. Justice Krishna Iyer in the case of Sunil Batra (II) vs. Delhi Administratio