Prison

Prisoners of process: Decongestion schemes fall short of expectations

Urgently streamlining the process may be one way to turn Mr Shah's gesture into genuine relief for India's undertrials

President Murmu's speech on plight of prisoners prompted SC report: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday revealed it was President Droupadi Murmu's speech on the plight of inmates that "kindled" a conversation, prompting the publication of a report by the Supreme Court. CJI Chandrachud, speaking at the release of "Prisons in India: Mapping Prison Manuals and Measures for Reformation and Decongestion" at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, thanked the President for her "stirring speech" highlighting the plight of prisoners, especially undertrials, at the 2022 Constitution Day celebrations. "The speech of the President kindled a conversation at the Supreme court and culminated in one of the reports being released today. This report is a result of the President's vision and it is but appropriate that it is being released by her," he said. The CJI added, "I daresay that this is an example of what can be achieved when the different branches of the state share a constitutional goal." Apart from the report on the prisons, the President released "Justice

K'taka Home minister denies claims of actor Darshan's VIP treatment in jail

G Parmeshwara said that if somebody is not well in the prison, then the medical team of the prison takes care or they outsource the medical team from government hospital, denying this a VIP treatment

House of Mirrors: The chilling truth behind Bangladesh's vanished prisoners

Sheikh Hasina's 15-year grip on power has ended, exposing of one of Bangladesh's most notorious secret prisons

Haridwar prison break: 3 planned to scale wall, 1 failed as ladder fell

Two prisoners who escaped from Haridwar district jail had hatched the plan with a third inmate, who also tried to scale the prison wall with them but failed as his ladder fell, police sources said on Sunday. The three had planned the prison break about a week before a Ramlila event in jail which they took advantage of to escape, they said. Police, however, are yet to find any leads on the whereabouts of the two prisoners who managed to escape. Pankaj, who is serving life imprisonment, and Ramkumar Chauhan, an undertrial in a kidnapping and ransom case, escaped from the prison on Friday night. Six jail officials, including jailer Pyarelal, were suspended for negligence after the matter came to light. Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Doval formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which will be led by Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar) Jitendra Mehra, on Friday night to re-arrest the prisoners as soon as possible. The police sources said preliminary

SC says caste-based discrimination in jail manuals unconstitutional

Apex court termed 'unconstitutional' rules in jail manuals advocating caste-based work

SC sets aside jail manual for promoting caste-based discrimination

The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside discriminatory provisions of prison manuals of some states while deprecating the practice of caste-based discrimination, distribution of work and segregation of prisoners in separate wards as per their castes. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud also issued a slew of directions to stop caste-based discrimination in jails. Caste cannot be a ground to discriminate against prisoners of marginalised classes in jails as per the state manuals, the bench said, adding such practices cannot be allowed. The prisoners shall not be permitted to undertake cleaning of sewers tanks in hazardous conditions, it said while ordering that the police will have to work in right earnest to deal with the cases of caste-based discriminations. The bench said prisoners of certain classes will have the right to get fair distribution of work in jails. Setting aside the objectionable rules, the top court ordered states to amend them within a period of three .

At least 129 people died during an attempted jailbreak, says Congo

According to the government, 24 prisoners lost their lives by gunfire while the others died by jostling or suffocation

Bushra Bibi fears for Imran Khan's life; alleges inhumane conditions

Bushra Bibi, the wife of incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, on Saturday expressed grave concerns about her husband's safety in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, alleging that he was kept in inhumane conditions and given contaminated food. Speaking informally to journalists at the prison, Bushra revealed fears for her own life as well, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. According to Bushra, Khan's life is in danger keeping in view the past incidents where he was allegedly poisoned and shot at. She added that their legal request to investigate the poisoning has not been addressed by the court yet. Describing conditions in the jail, Bushra, 49, alleged that 71-year-old Khan was kept in unsanitary conditions and given contaminated food to eat. She said that during their meeting in Attock Jail, Khan appeared emaciated and had to pick insects from his hair throughout the night. Bushra also criticised the treatment of political prisoners compared to convicted criminals

Man who stabbed South Korea's Oppn leader sentenced to 15 years in prison

A man who stabbed South Korea's opposition leader in the neck earlier this year was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday, court officials said. The knife-wielding man attacked Lee Jae-myung, head of the liberal Democratic Party, South Korea's biggest political party, in January after approaching him asking for his autograph at an event in the southeastern city of Busan. After being detained by police, he told investigators that he wanted to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming South Korea's president. The Busan District Court said the man was handed the 15-year prison term after being found guilty for an attempted murder and a violation of an election law. The court said that both the man and prosecutors have one week to appeal. The attack happened ahead of the country's crucial parliamentary elections in April, which ended with Lee's Democratic Party and other opposition parties winning a massive victory against President Yoon Suk Yeol's conservative governing party. A cou

Gangster Abu Salem moved out of Taloja prison for transfer to Nashik jail

Gangster Abu Salem, who has been serving life sentence in the 1993 serial blasts case, was moved out of the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai on Thursday and is being transferred to the central jail in Nashik amid tight police security, an official said. Salem was taken out of the Taloja jail in a vehicle at 11.30 am, he said. Extradited from Portugal in 2005, Salem was convicted and awarded life sentence in 2017 for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. He was lodged in the Taloja prison, but the jail authorities had submitted to the special court that he needs to be shifted to the Nashik Central Prison given that the high-security cell inside the Taloja prison was in shambles and needs urgent repair. Salem had moved the Bombay High Court challenging a special court's order, which last month rejected his application against his planned transfer from Taloja prison to Nashik Central Prison, claiming a threat to his life. Salem claimed the decision to shift him out of the Taloj

700 inmates employed, 1,200 more to get job soon: Tihar prisons chief

Around 700 inmates are employed and 12,00 more are presently getting training to work in various sectors after coming out of jail, Tihar's Director General (prisons) Sanjay Baniwal said. In an interaction with PTI editors at its headquarters on Monday, Baniwal, a 1989 batch IPS officer, said that he is happy to see inmates, who get employed after spending their jail term. Beniwal, who had a stint of Chandigarh DGP, has been posted as Tihar DG since November 2022. Replying to a question over jail reforms during his tenure in Tihar, Baniwal said, "We have started skill development programme with the help of Urban Development Ministry inside the prisons. Under this programme, around 700 inmates have got the job in hotel industry and 1,200 are getting training to get the job in hospitals." According to jail officials, an infrastructure is provided inside the prisons for training under-trial prisoners (UTP). The programme was launched in early 2023. Baniwal said skilling and empowering

Alexei Navalny, Putin critic and Russian Oppn leader, dies in Arctic jail

Navalny's wife, Yulia, said she could not be sure her husband was dead because "Putin and his government... lie incessantly"

UN calls for 'credible' Russian investigation into Alexei Navalny death

Navalny collapsed and died on Friday after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade jail term, the Russian prison service said

561 prisoners on death row in India, highest in two decades: Report

A total of 561 prisoners are on death row in the country, the highest at the end of a calendar year in two decades -- a rise of 45.71 per cent in such inmates since 2015, a report revealed. The eighth edition of the 'Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report' published by Project 39A at National Law University, Delhi said the trial courts imposed 120 death sentences in 2023 but the year witnessed lowest rate of death sentence confirmations by the appellate courts since 2000, with the Supreme Court not confirming any death sentence for a second calendar year after 2021. "The Supreme Court did not confirm any death sentence in 2023. In the High Courts, only one death sentence was confirmed by the Karnataka High Court in a murder simpliciter case. In doing so, 2023 marks the lowest rate of death sentence confirmations by the appellate courts since 2000," said the report. The report said the President of India rejected one mercy petition in March 2023 in a case of kidnapping, rap

Delhi Court sends suspected Hizbul Mujahideen operative Matoo to jail

A Delhi court on Wednesday sent suspected Hizbul Mujahideen operative Javaid Ahmad Matoo, allegedly involved in 11 terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, to 14-day judicial custody, while setting free another accused in the case for want of evidence. Duty Magistrate Isha Singh sent Matoo, 32, to jail till January 31 on an application moved by the Delhi Police, after he was produced before the court. Matoo, allegedly a highly indoctrinated terrorist carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh, was arrested from Delhi's Nizamuddin area. He was driving a stolen car when he was apprehend, police said. The magistrate, however, ordered the release of Mohd. Rafi Najar on a police application which said no incriminating evidence was found against him. "As on date, there is no admissible incriminating evidence against the accused Najar and so, there exists no ground for his detention in this case," the judge said. Najar was arrested in the case on the basis of the disclosure statement of Matoo, who ..

Tihar faces challenges as inmates exploit 5G network, tech upgrades needed

As part of the contraband seizures in the past 13 months, Tihar Jail has confiscated 616 knives and 6850 grams of narcotic substances

'Mumbai terror attack mastermind Saeed in Pak jail serving 78-yr sentence'

Mumbai terror attack mastermind and outlawed Jamat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed is in the custody of Pakistan serving a 78-year-imprisonment sentence as a result of a conviction in seven terror financing cases, the UN said in updated information. In December, India asked Pakistan to extradite Saeed, a United Nations-proscribed terrorist, who is wanted by Indian probe agencies in a number of terror cases. Saeed, who was designated as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council's 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee in December 2008, is in (the) custody of the Government of Pakistan, serving a 78-year imprisonment sentence since 12 February 2020 as a result of conviction in seven terror financing cases, the Sanctions Committee said in an amended entry. Last month, the Security Council Committee enacted amendments to certain entries in its ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo. Under these amendmen

South Korea endorses landmark legislation outlawing dog meat consumption

South Korea's parliament has endorsed landmark legislation outlawing dog meat consumption, a centuries-old practice. The National Assembly passed the bill by a 208-0 vote on Tuesday. It will become law after it's endorsed by the Cabinet Council and signed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, steps considered a formality as Yoon's government supports the ban. The bill would make the slaughtering, breeding, trade and sales of dog meat for human consumption illegal from 2027 and punish such acts with 2-3 years in prison. Efforts to ban dog meat consumption have faced fierce resistance from farmers and others in the country's dwindling dog meat industry. Recent surveys show a majority of South Koreans don't eat dog meat any longer.

Can't allow inadequate prison healthcare system to violate right: HC

Courts cannot allow an inadequate prison healthcare system to violate an inmate's right to timely medical care, the Delhi High Court held while directing the city government to ensure that proper medical infrastructure is maintained in jails here. Observing that the Delhi government is responsible for the management and maintenance of prison premises here, the high court directed authorities to ensure that healthcare requirements of jail inmates are met. The court also directed the secretary of the Delhi government's health and family welfare department to constitute a committee, which, apart from him, will include the director general (prisons), chief medical officer (CMO) of Delhi Prisons, two senior jail visiting judges of district courts to be nominated by the principal district and sessions judge (central district), secretary of the DSLSA and two advocates. The committee, the high court said, will give suggestions to it within one month regarding improving healthcare facilities