718. The main points to be noticed at an inspection of a jail are stated in the questionnaire under paragraph 917 of the Jail Manual, 1926. In addition the following mattes should receive the special attention of District and Sessions Judges.
Note. - The relevant provision of law and of the Jail Manual are reproduced at the end of this chapter.Under-trial Prisoner. - It shall be seen that the history-tickets are properly filled in (paragraph 784 of the Jail Manual, 1926), and that orders of remand are in accordance with Sections 344 and 508 of the Criminal Procedure Code. If the trial of any prisoner appears to be unduly delayed a note of the case should be made and the record should be inspected. It should be ascertained that the orders contained in Part I, Chapter 16, Rule 391, are properly acted upon by the Courts.Convicted Prisoner. - The history-tickets should be examined. If any sentence appears illegal, the entry should be checked with the warrant, and, if necessary, the record should be inspected. With juvenile prisoners it should be seen whether the sentences are appropriate and whether action has been, or should have been, taken by the superintendent under Section 10 of the Reformatory Schools Act. The Sessions Judge should satisfy himself that proper facilities for appeal are given and the results of appeals promptly communicated by Appellate Courts [Part I, Chapter 12]. He should also see that the cell communications required by Section 25 of the Prisons Act, 1894, are in order, and that judicial sentences of solitary confinement are legally carried out (paragraph 766 of the Jail Manual).Civil Prisoner. - He should see that the provisions of paragraph 1052 of the Jail Manual are observed, and that the sentences are legal (Section 58 of the Civil Procedure Code).Lunatics. - He should see that non-criminal lunatics are not unduly detained under observation (Act IV of 1912, Section 16) and that criminal lunatics confined in a jail under Section 466 or Section 471 of the Criminal Procedure Code have been inspected and reported on as required by Section 471 (2).Warrants. - He should carefully examine a few warrants taken at random and see that copies or orders passed under Section 565 of the Criminal Procedure Code are attached to the warrants of commitment [Part I, Chapter 16, rule 415], that the warrants themselves are prepared in accordance with the instructions contained in Part I, Chapter 16, Rules 384 to 389 and 391 and that prisoners are correctly classified (Part I, Ch. 16 Rules 393 et. seq.).Release Diary. - He should check a few entries with the warrants and see that the dates of release and dates on which any sentences of whipping are to be carried out are correctly noted (paragraph 990 of the Jail Manual).Punishment Registers. - He should see that the punishments awarded are legal (Sections 46 to 48 of the Prisons Act), and that the entries required by law (Section 51) are properly made. (For the definition of "serious prison offence" in Section 51 see paragraphs 120 and 121 of Jail Manual).Prisons Act, 1894 (IX of 1894). - Section 29. No cell shall be used for solitary confinement unless it is furnished with the means of enabling the prisoner to communicate at any time with an officer of the prison, and every prisoner so confined in a cell for more than twenty-four hours, whether as a punishment or otherwise, shall be visited at least once a day by the medical officer or medical subordinate.Section 45. - The following acts are declared to be prison-offences when committed by a prisoner:-(1)such wilful disobedience to any regulation of the prison as shall have been declared by the rules made under Section 59 to be a prison-offence;(2)any assault or use of criminal force;(3)the use of insulting or threatening language;(4)immoral or indecent or disorderly behaviour;(5)wilfully disabling himself from labour;(6)continuously refusing to work;(7)filing, cutting, altering or removing handcuffs, fetters or bars without due authority;(8)wilful idleness or negligence at work by any prisoner sentenced to rigorous imprisonment;(9)wilful mismanagement of work by any prisoner sentenced to rigorous imprisonment;(10)wilful damage to prison property;(11)tampering with or defacing history-tickets, records or documents;(12)receiving, possessing or transferring any prohibited article;(13)feigning illness;(14)wilfully bring a false accusation against any officer or prisoner;(15)omitting or refusing to report, as soon as it comes in his knowledge, the occurrence of any fire, any plot or conspiracy, any escape, attempt or preparation to escape, and any attack or preparation for attack upon any prisoner or prison-official; and(16)conspiring to escape, or to assist in escaping or to commit any other of the offences aforesaid.Section 46. - The superintendent may examine any person touching any such offence, and determine thereupon, and punish such offence by-(1)a formal warning:Explanation. - A formal warning shall mean a warning personally addressed to a prisoner by the superintendent and recorded in the punishment-took and on the prisoner's history-ticket;(2)change of labour to some more irksome or severe form for such period as may be prescribed by rules made by the Provincial Government;(3)hard labour for a period not exceeding seven days in the case of convicted criminal prisoners not sentenced to rigorous imprisonment;(4)such loss of privileges admissible under the remission system for the time being in force as may be prescribed by rules made by the Provincial Government;(5)the substitution of gunny or other coarse fabric for clothing of other material, not being woolen, for a period which shall not exceed three months;(6)imposition of handcuffs of such pattern and weight, in such manner and for such period as may be prescribed by rules made by the Provincial Government;(7)imposition of fetters of such pattern and weight in such manner and for such period as may be prescribed by rules made by the Provincial Government;(8)separate confinement for any period not exceeding three months.Explanation. - Separate confinement means such confinement with or without labour as secludes a prisoner from communication with, but not from sight of, other prisoners, and allows him not less than one hour's exercise per diem and to have his meals in association with one or more other prisoners;(9)penal diet, that is, restriction of diet in such manner and subject to such conditions regarding labour as may be prescribed by the Provincial Government :Provided that such restriction of diet shall in no case be applied to a prisoner for more than ninety-six consecutive hours, and shall not be repeated except for a fresh offence nor until after an interval of one week;(10)cellular confinement for any period not exceeding fourteen days :Provided that after each period of cellular confinement an interval of not less duration than such period must elapse before the prisoner is again sentenced to cellular or solitary confinement :Explanation. - Cellular confinement means such confinement with or without labour as entirely secludes a prisoner from communication with, but not from sight of other prisoners;(11)penal diet as defined in clause (9) combined with cellular confinement;(12)whipping provided that the number of strips shall not exceed thirty :Provided that nothing in this section shall render any female or civil prisoner liable to the imposition of any form of handcuffs or fetters, or to whipping.Section 47. - (1) Any two of the punishments enumerated in the last foregoing section may be awarded for any such offence in combination, subject to the following exceptions, namely:-(1)Formal warning shall not be combined with any other punishment except loss of privileges under clause (4) of that section;(2)penal diet shall not be combined with change of labour under clause (2) of that section, nor shall any additional period of penal diet awarded singly be combined with any period of penal diet awarded in combination with cellular confinement;(3)cellular confinement shall not be combined with separate confinement, so as to prolong the total period of seclusion to which the prisoner shall be liable;(4)whipping shall not be combined with any other form of punishment except cellular and separate confinement and loss of privileges admissible under the remission system;(5)no punishment shall be combined with any other punishment in contravention of rules made by the Provincial Government.(2)No punishment shall be awarded for any such offence so as to combine, with the punishment awarded for any other such offence, two of the punishments which may not be awarded in combination for any such offence.Section 48. - (1) The Superintendent shall have power to award any of the punishments enumerated in the last two foregoing sections, subject, in the case of separate confinement for a period exceeding one month, to the previous confirmation of the Inspector-General.(2)No officer subordinate to the superintendent shall have power to award any punishment whatever.Section 51. - (1) In the punishment-book prescribed in Section 12 there shall be recorded, in respect of every punishment inflicted, the prisoner's name, register number and the class (whether habitual or not) to which he belongs, the prison-offence of which he was guilty, the date on which such prison-offence was committed, the number of previous prison-offences recorded against the prisoner, and the date of his last prison-offence, the punishment awarded and the date of infliction.(2)In the case of every serious prison-offence, the names of the witnesses proving the offence shall be recorded, and, in the case of offences for which whipping is awarded, the superintendent shall record the substance of the evidence of the witnesses, the defence of the prisoner, and the finding with the reasons therefor.(3)Against the entries relating to each punishment the jailor and superintendent shall affix their initials as evidence of the correctness of the entries.Jail Manual, 1926. - Paragraph 120. - The following executive instruction has been framed by the Government of India with reference to clause (2) of Section 59 of the Prisons Act, IX of 1894, regarding the classification of prison offences into minor and serious offences:-An offence shall be deemed a minor offence when it is dealt with by a minor punishment (see classification of punishments in paragraph 121 below), and a serious offence when dealt with by a major punishment; and in the annual returns offences shall be classified as (1) offences dealt with by major punishments, and (2) offences dealt with by minor punishments.Paragraph 121. - the following executive instructions have been framed by the Government of India under clause (2) of Section 59 of the Prisons Act, IX of 1894, regarding the classifications of minor and major punishments enumerated in Section 46 of the said Act including those prescribed by the Governor-General in Council under Section 46, clauses (4), (6) and (7);-Minor punishment:-(1)formal warning;(2)change of labour for a stated period to some more irksome or severe form;(3)forfeiture of remission earned, not exceedings four days;(4)forfeiture of class, grade, or prison privileges for a period not exceeding three months;(5)temporary reduction from higher to a lower class or grade;(6)penal diet with or without cellular confinement not exceeding forty-eight hours;(7)cellular confinement for not more than seven days;(8)separate confinement for not more than fourteen days;(9)imposition of handcuffs otherwise than by handcuffing a prisoner behind or to a staple;(10)imposition of link fetters for not more than thirty days; and(11)substitution of gunny or other coarse clothing for the portion of the ordinary prison dress which is not woolen.Major punishments:-(1)hard labour in the case of prisoners not sentenced to rigorous imprisonment;(2)(a)forfeiture of remission earned, exceeding four but not exceeding twelve days;(b)forfeiture of remission earned, in excess of twelve days;(c)forfeiture of class, grade, or prison privileges for a period exceeding three months;(d)exclusion from the remission system for a period not exceeding three months;(e)exclusion from the remission system for a period exceeding three months;(f)permanent reduction from a higher to a lower class or grade;(3)cellular confinement for a period exceeding seven days;(4)separate confinement for a period exceeding fourteen days;(5)link-fetters, if imposed for more than thirty days;(6)bar-fetters;(7)cross-bar fetters;(8)handcuffing behind or to a staple;(9)penal diet combined with cellular confinement for more than forty-eight hours;(10)whipping; and(11)any combination of minor punishments admissible under Section 47 of the Act.Note 1. - The major punishments 2 (b) and (e), and any combination of the major punishments 2 (b), 2 (c) and 2 (e) shall not be awarded by the superintendent of a prison without the previous sanction of the Inspector-General of Prisons.Note 2. - The following punishments shall not be carried out in combination even when awarded at different times for different offences: (a) penal diet with whipping, (b) penal diet with standing handcuffs, (c) standing handcuffs with cross-bar fetters, and (d) cross-bar fetters with bar fetters.Paragraph 766. - When any prisoner is sentenced to solitary confinement under Section 73 of the Indian Penal Code, the jailor shall enter his name and particulars of the sentences in the solitary confinement register and submit the register to the superintendent for verification of the entry. This register shall be examined by the jailor on the 1st of every month, and he shall then see that every prisoner who has an uncompleted sentence of solitary confinement is placed in a cell for the period prescribed in Section 74 of the Indian Penal Code, or according to any order on his warrant, if not contrary to that section, provided that he has previously been certified by the medical officer to be fit for such confinement. If there is not a sufficient number of cells available for all such prisoners, he may place half of the number in cells on the 1st of the month, and the other half on the 15th of the month. No period of judicial solitary confinement exceeding fourteen days or, if the sentence of imprisonment is for more than three months, exceeding seven days, can be inflicted in each calendar month. If the period of solitary confinement is stated on the warrant in months, one month's solitary confinement shall be counted as four weeks, two months as eight weeks, and three months as twelve weeks. The execution of a sentence of solitary confinement need not be postponed on account of an appeal having been lodged.Paragraph 784. - Every under-trial prisoner shall be furnished with a history-ticket showing his name, date when first placed on trial, date of admission to the jail, crime of which accused, previous convictions, if any are known, Court in which the case is pending, whether he is a confessing prisoner or not dates to which his trial has been remanded, weight on admission, and weight subsequently once a fortnight.Paragraph 917. - (1) Any police officer of not lower rank than a deputy superintendent shall, for any purpose connected with the discharge of his duty as such police officer, be permitted to enter the jail at any time.(2)Police officers of a lower rank than deputy superintendents who are in uniform and have been detailed for the duty shall be permitted to enter the jail for the purpose of recognizing old offenders, or for conducting operations for the identification of prisoners during work hours on any week day.(3)No police officer shall be permitted to interview any prisoner except in so far as may be necessary for the identification of such prisoner, without an order in writing from the District Magistrate or the District Superintendent of Police, addressed to the superintendent of the jail.(4)Any interview permitted under an order from the District Magistrate or the District Superintendent of Police shall take place in the presence of the jailor or other proper officer of the jail, who shall, if required to do so, keep at such a distance that he may not hear the conversation that takes place.(5)The superintendent of the jail shall, for the purpose of this rule, produce any prisoner in his charge whom the police are authorized to interview, and shall afford every reasonable facility for this purpose.(6)The superintendent shall arrange that every visitor to the jail shall be attended by two warders armed with batons.Questions on some of the main points to be noticed by visitors at their visits to jails(1)Buildings. - Are the buildings secure and in good repair?(2)Overcrowding. - Is there any overcrowding? If so, where are the excess prisoners accommodated, and are steps being taken to relieve it?(3)Drainage. - Is the drainage of the jail in a satisfactory state? If not, what are the defects?(4)Water-supply. - Is the water-supply sufficient and good and the means of carriage suitable?(5)Have the drinking water wells been cleaned out recently?(6)Food. - Are the articles of food in the store-room and elsewhere properly kept and in good condition?(7)Does the weight of vegetables agree with the calculated weight in the diet roll and are they of good quality and properly cleaned?(8)Is the food issued correct in quantity and properly cooked?(9)Is the full number of rations for all the prisoners forthcoming?(10)Are the oil and condiments added to the curry to the presence of some responsible officer?(11)Clothing. - Have the prisoners the prescribed amount of clothing and bedding in their possession? Is it in serviceable order? Is the bedding placed in the sun every morning when the weather permits, and is the prescribed extra blanket issued during the cold months?(12)Bathing. - Are the prisoners required to bath regularly?(13)Are full tasks exacted from all labouring prisoners fit for hard labour? Who checks the work done in the evening? Is the out-turn of each convict properly recorded on the work-tickets?(14)Remission. - Is ordinary remission for industry given with reference to the actual takes performed?(15)Are there any convicts who are not receiving remission for industry for failure to perform tasks? If so, have efforts been made to enforce work by means of punishment?(16)Punishments. - Is the ratio of punishments in the jail unduly high?(17)Discipline. - Are convicts regularly searched for contraband?(18)Are convicts prevented from wandering about?(19)Are gangs of convicts marched about in proper order ?(20)Habituals. - Are habituals separated from others at night and is their separation from others by day carried out as far as possible?(21)Lunatics. - Are there any civil lunatics in jail who have been detained under observation longer than the period allowed by [law] and, if so, on whose warrant ?(22)Are there any criminal lunatics who have been unduly detained in jail?(23)Females. - Are the women prisoners thoroughly screened from the view of male prisoners?(24)Juveniles. - Are Juvenile prisoners under the age of 18 separated, both by day and night, from adults, and are those juveniles who have arrived at the age of puberty separated from those who have not, as required by Section 27 (2) of the Prisoners Act, 1894? Do juvenile prisoners receive instruction?(25)Adolescents. - Are all adolescent prisoners, of ages ranging from 18 to 20 or 22, separate at night, both from juveniles and adults?(26)Cells. - Is ever cell utilized at night?(27)Appeals. - Has there been any undue delay in forwarding appeals to the Courts, or in the receipt of the Courts orders on appeals?(28)Garden. - Is the whole vegetable supply of the jail obtained from the jail garden? If not, why cannot this be done?Paragraph 990. - The date on which a prisoner is entitled to be released shall be calculated by the superintendent and jailor, and an entry shall be made in the release diary under that date, giving the name and serial number of the prisoner. It is not the duty of the committing officer to note the date of release on the warrant. If the date of release is stated on the warrant incorrectly or omitted, the warrant shall not be returned for correction on that account. the entry in the release diary shall made by the jailor personally in a district jail, and in a central jail by such officer as the superintendent shall depute by written order; but such entries will be checked and initialled by the jailor. In case the term of imprisonment be changed, either by the judicial imposition of additional imprisonment or by remission of any part of the sentence, or by absence from the jail on bail or after escape, the entry shall be scored through with red ink and a reference made to the date of release under the new order, under which date a new entry shall be made. When a whipping is awarded in addition to imprisonment, an entry shall be made in red ink in the release diary on the page for the day on which the prisoner is to receive strips. Should this date be uncertain, owing to an appeal being made, two or three forward entries shall be made in the release diary as a reminder that the prisoner is to be brought up at the proper time to receive strips. The superintendent shall himself check each entry in the release diaries and admission register, and shall be personally responsible for the correctness of such entries and for any illegal detention of a prisoner or failure to execute a sentence due to neglect of this rule.Paragraph 1052. - A copy of the rules relating to Insolvency (Act III of 1907, as amended by Act V of 1920) shall be kept up in the civil ward of every jail, and superintendents of jails shall assist civil debtors and revenue defaulters who wish to be declared insolvents in making the necessary application under the Act. These applications may be written by a warder or other official, and such paper and writing materials as are necessary may be supplied.Reformatory Schools Act (VIII of 1897)Section 10. - The officer in charge of a prison in which a youthful offender is confined, in execution of a sentence of imprisonment, may bring him, is he has not then attained the [age of sixteen] years, before the District Magistrate within whose jurisdiction such a person is situate; and such magistrate may, if such youthful offender appears to be a proper person to be an inmate of a Reformatory School, direct that, instead of undergoing the residue of his sentence, he shall be sent to a Reformatory School and there detained for a period which shall be subject to the same limitations as are prescribed by or under Section 8, with reference to the period of detention thereby authorized.The Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 (TV of 1912)Section 16. - (1) When any person alleged to be a lunatic is brought before a magistrate under the provisions of Section 13 or Section 15, the magistrate may by an order in writing, authorize the detention of the alleged lunatic in suitable custody for such time not exceeding ten days as may be, in his opinion necessary to enable the medical officer to determine whether such alleged lunatic is a person in respect of whom a medical certificate may be properly given.(2)The Magistrate may, from time to time, for the same purpose by order in writing, authorize such further detention of the alleged lunatic for periods not exceeding ten days at a time as he thinks necessary:Provided that no person shall be detained in accordance with the provisions of this section for a total period exceeding thirty days from the date on which he was first brought before the Magistrate.
