Prisoner Cannot Be Denied Access To Minimal Facilities Required To Deal With His Physical Condition: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently observed that prisoners have a right to access minimal facilities that are required to deal with their physical condition and the government could not shirk its responsibility for providing better facilities to prisoners. The bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice R Poornima noted that in some cases a prisoner's physical or medical condition may require certain facilities which should be provided to him. The court added that a prisoner, either convicted or undertrial did not cease to become a human being and continued to enjoy all fundamental rights including the right to life guaranteed under the Constitution. The court thus observed that prison justice could not be confined to a rigid framework and must be expanded taking into consideration the physical or medical condition of the prisoner. “The concept of prison justice cannot be confined within a rigid frame work. Its boundaries have to expand. A prisoner cannot be denied access to the minimal facilities required to deal with his physical condition. The condition of his knees may be such that, he cannot use an Indian toilet. He may not be able to sleep on the floor. In such cases, it is the duty of the prison authority to make available such facilities. It is not open to the prison head to tell the prisoner that since he does not fulfil the rule requirement, he will not get “A” class facility. That is why, we hold that it is the prisoner's physical/medical condition which will be the governing criteria,” the court said. The court was hearing a father's plea to direct the State and prison authorities to grant “A” class classification to his son who was undergoing life sentence in Central Prison, Palayamkottai. The father submitted that his son was having certain neurological issues and had to be given cot facility for sleeping and be permitted to use a western toilet which could be done only if he was placed as “A” Class prisoner. As per Tamil Nadu Prison Rules 1983, a prisoner is held eligible for class “A”, if by social status, education, or habit of life, the prisoner was accustomed to a superior mode of living. The court has previously held that the prisoner should have been already accustomed to a superior mode of living prior to his imprisonment and subsequent acquiring of degree certificate or other qualification during the incarceration would not be a ground to invoke the Rule. In the present case, the authorities argued that the petitioner's case did not come within Rule 225 of the Tamil Nadu Prison Rules and thus he could not be categorized as a class “A” prisoner. The court however noted that providing medical assistance and facilities to inmates in the prison was part of the right to health and was undoubtedly a human right that should be made a reality for all prisoners. The court relied on the observations of the Supreme Court in Sunil Batra Vs. Delhi Administration, and Inhuman conditions in 382 Prison entry) and the decision of the Delhi High Court in Amandeep Singh Dhall Vs. Directorate of Enforcement to stress that a prisoner, in light of his incarceration, did not lose his fundamental rights guaranteed to him under the Constitution. The court thus directed the father to submit an appropriate representation to the Superintendent of Police, Palayamkottai Central Prison who shall conduct a physical/medical examination of the prisoner and submit a necessary proposal to the Principal Secretary to the Government. The court also directed the Principal Secretary to pass appropriate orders by considering the facts and the law laid. Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. S. M. A. Jinnah Counsel for the Respondent: Mr. T. Senthil Kumar, Addl. Public Prosecutor Case Title: R. Ramalingam v. The Principal Secretary to Government and Others Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 43 Case No: W.P(MD)No.2024 of 2025Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment

Prisoner Cannot Be Denied Access To Minimal Facilities Required To Deal With His Physical Condition: Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

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