Justice Vikram Nath Addresses Global Forum On Mothers In Detention And Their Children

Justice Vikram Nath, who is also the Executive Chairperson of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), delivered the keynote address, while Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi, Patron-in-Chief of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA), attended as the Guest of Honour.

The forum was organised by Prayas and the Centre for Criminology and Justice, TISS, with Children of Incarcerated Caregivers (CIC), convenor of the Global Prison Nursery Network (GPNN).

Prof. Vijay Raghavan opened the conference by highlighting its purpose of examining the impact of a mother's arrest on her children. The discussion covered children living with their mothers in prison, including those born in prison who may remain there until the age of six, as well as children left outside in the care of guardians or childcare institutions.

Julie Matonich introduced the work of CIC and GPNN. Prof. Bipin Jojo, Dean of the School of Social Work, welcomed the gathering and recalled TISS's long history of work in social work and criminal justice. Vice Chancellor Prof. Badri Narayan Tiwari described TISS as a space for dialogue about the past, present and future, emphasising the importance of giving these children stories and hope for the future.

In her inaugural address, Ms. Olivia Rope of Penal Reform International argued that pretrial detention should be a last resort. She said caregiving responsibilities should be considered a reason for release rather than an afterthought, and that judges should consider the best interests of children at every stage.

Drawing on examples from Brazil, France, Ukraine, South Africa and other countries, she called for authorities to ask detainees about their children at the time of arrest, explore non-custodial alternatives and encourage judges to visit prisons.

Addressing the gathering, Justice Vikram Nath spoke about the children of undertrial mothers and observed that no court had sentenced these children, yet the length of their separation from their mothers was determined by the pace of the trial.

He urged that mothers be asked about their children at the time of arrest, Child Welfare Committees be informed, siblings be kept together and regular contact between mothers and their children be maintained.

Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi described these children as a "silent demography" and noted that most women prisoners in India are undertrials. He stressed that prison barracks cannot function as nurseries and referred to the UN Bangkok Rules and the BNS provisions on caretaking responsibilities.

He emphasised that the objective should be to reduce the collateral damage resulting from such arrests.

The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Roshni Nair-Shaikh and the felicitation of visiting judges, Justices Ajey Gadkari, G.S. Kulkarni, Burgess Pesi Colabawalla and Suman Shyam of the Bombay High Court, and Justice Anoop Chitkara of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.