The central legal point established in the judgment is the violation of fundamental rights of prisoners, as guaranteed by the Constitution of India, and the State's constitutional duty to improve and reform the conditions of the jails.

JUDGMENT

Raghvendra Singh Chauhan, CJ. - In compliance of the order dated 17.11.2021, both Mr. Ranjeet Singh Sinha, the learned Secretary (Home), and Mr. Pushpak Jyoti, the learned Inspector General of Prisons, Uttarakhand, have joined this Court through video conference. Moreover, in compliance of the said order, Mr. C.S. Rawat, the learned Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand, has submitted an affidavit of Mr. Pushpak Jyoti, the learned Inspector General of Prisons, dated 06.12.2021. The same shall be taken on record.

2. By order dated 17.11.2021, this Court had directed the learned Inspector General of Prisons to visit the thirteen jails of the State, and to give his report along with photographs of each jail, as well as to provide this Court with his vision for improving and reforming the conditions of the jails in the State. Consequently, Mr. Jyoti, the learned IGP, has complied with the said order by submitting his affidavit.

3. A bare perusal of the affidavit, and especially of the photographs attached thereto, reveals a horrifying situation and conditions of the jails in the State. According to the said affidavit, District Jail, Haridwar, has a capacity of housing 870 prisoners. But, presently, 1400 prisoners are incarcerated in the said jail. Out of the said 1400 prisoners, 1335 are male prisoners living in twenty-three barracks. There are sixty-five female prisoners living in a single barrack. It is beyond anyone’s imagination as to how sixty-five female prisoners are living in a single barrack. Moreover, it is difficult to believe how fifty-eight male prisoners live and survive in each barrack. Surprisingly, despite the fact that there are sixty-five female prisoners, according to the affidavit, there is not a single gynecologist, who is attached with the prison. According to Mr. Pushpak Jyoti, as and when need arises, a gynecologist is asked to come and attend to the needs of the female prisoners. This is, indeed, surprising considering the fact that women would continue to have gynecological problems periodically, and yet the Government has not even bothered to attach a single gynecologist, or an obstetrician, in the medical faculty provided in the jail.

4. Similarly, the Sub-Jail Roorkee has a capacity of housing 244 prisoners. But, presently, there are 625 prisoners in the said Jail. Out of these 625 prisoners, 607 are male prisoners, who are housed in eight barracks, thereby meaning that seventy-five male prisoners are stuffed into each barrack. There are eighteen female prisoners, who are housed in a single barrack. This, itself, is surprising that eighteen female prisoners are forced to live in a single barrack. According to the chart provided in the affidavit, a Medical Officer is available on call. There is one Chief Pharmacist, and one Pharmacist, who is outsourced from the UPNL. For the female prisoners, a gynecologist is available, but only on call. Surprisingly, in the Sub-Jail, no prison industry is available, and no educational facilities are available to the 625 inmates of the jail. The photograph attached with the affidavit clearly reveals that all the prisoners are forced to sleep on floor. There are two photographs of the toilets available in the jail. The condition of one of the toilets is horrifying as the walls are all dirty, unpainted, and there is hardly any sense of hygiene. Similarly, even the kitchen operating in the jail is in a tin-shed. Firewood is being used for cooking food for the prisoners. Therefore, even the kitchen continues to exist in the 19th century. Despite the availability of bio-gas, or the availability of gas stoves, the kitchen appears to belong to another century.

5. Likewise, the capacity of the District Jail, Dehradun, is 580, while it houses 1491 prisoners. Out of these 1491 prisoners, 1404 are male prisoners. These 1404 male prisoners are housed in twenty-six barracks, thereby meaning that fifty-four prisoners have to be stuffed like sardines in a single b