NHRC issues notice to Bihar Govt. over deplorable conditions of prisons

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Bihar Government over reported deplorable conditions of prisons in the state.

The NHRC took suo motu cognizance of a media report revealing the deplorable conditions prevailing in the prisons of Bihar.

This story is based on an exhaustive report titled 'Prisons of Bihar: Status Report-2015' prepared by Smita Chakraburty, an activist and researcher. She was assigned a project by Justice V.N. Sinha, Patna High Court Judge and Executive Chairman, Bihar State Legal Services Authority, to visit all the 58 prisons of Bihar to study the living conditions and submit a report.

The Commission observed that although it is not oblivious of the ills plaguing the prison system in the country as a whole, the prisons are also involved in gross violation of human rights of the prisoners that are under the care and custody of the state.

Accordingly, it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Prisons, Government of Bihar for factual reports within four weeks.

Reportedly, Chakraburty interviewed as many as 30,070 inmates during her study.