Screen prison inmates every 6 months for TB, AIDS: NHRC to Gujarat govt

Following a sizeable number of tuberculosis cases being reported from a central prison in Surat, the NHRC has asked the Gujarat government and its chief of prisons to screen inmates every six months for TB and HIV, officials said on Tuesday.

The commission has also recommended that the government should consider on a "priority basis" terminally-ill patients for commutation of sentence, it said in a statement.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the state government to increase the staff strength at the Lajpore Central Prison, including at the hospital, besides filling up vacant posts at the earliest.

"The NHRC, in the wake of a sizeable number of TB patients at the Lajpore Central Prison, Surat, has recommended the DG of Prisons, government of Gujarat to screen inmates every six months for TB, HIV/AIDS to provide timely treatment and check the spread of the disease," the statement said.

The commission also recommended that the government should consider on a priority basis, terminally-ill patients for commutation of sentence. For commuting sentences, the government should consider all cases as provided under section 433 of the CrPC, rather than only those falling under section 433 A of the CrPC, it added.

The directions of the commission have come following a visit by its team, led by NHRC member Jyotika Kalra, for an on-the-spot assessment of the facilities at the prison in the wake of a magisterial inquiry report observing that there were complaints of several inmates having TB, and the lack of medical care while inquiring into the death of an undertrial prisoner aged 21 years due to pulmonary tuberculosis, the statement said.

The inmate was healthy at the time of entry into the prison on April 27, 2019 but died on July 15, 2020, the rights panel said.

The commission has also said that focus should be on the initial health screening of every inmate at the time of his admission or entry to the jail, as per the format prescribed by the NHRC.

Besides, ECG and diabetes tests at the time of initial screening, multi-drug resistant inmates should be kept separate from non-drug-resistant inmates, it added.

The commission has asked the registrar of the Gujarat High Court to ensure high speed network of internet before conducting proceedings from jail, and that at the stage of examination of witnesses, the inmates must be called from the prison so that they can assist their counsel in cross examination, the statement said.

Further on the litigation side, it has been recommended to provide senior lawyers from the Legal Service Authority to represent accused booked for heinous crimes and involve law students to assist legal aid lawyers, it said.