History and Development of Prisons

HISTORICAL BACKDROP

The h i s tor i ca l account o f j a i l s in our count ry can be t raced back to the Ep ic age . In

Ramayana, when Bharata saw Rama at Ch i t rakut , the la t ter , wh i le mak ing deta i led inqu i ry

about the s ta te o f po l i ty and we l fa re o f peop le o f Ayodhya, d id not fo rget to e l i c i t the

s i tuat ion in ja i l there . References o f j a i l a re a l so there in the Mahabharata . In those

mytho log ica l per iod there were e ighteen impor tant s ta te o f f i c ia l s and one o f them was the

bead o f the ins t i tu t ion o f j a i l (karagr iha) des ignated as kamyadhyr rkrkcr" . In Manusmr i t i i t i s

s ta ted that " ( the K ing) shou ld have a l l the pr i sons bu i l t on the roya l h ighway, where the

su f fer ing and mut i la ted ev i l doers can be seen" . There were a l so hor r i f i c pun ishments l i ke

feed ing to an imals , mut i la t ions e tc .We have locked up peop le in our count ry ( in dungeons

and ce l la rs ) to get them out o f s ight and o f ten to awa i t some other pun ishment such as

ban ish ing , os t rac i z ing , and death , th i s inc ludes the lock ing up o f Kr i shna 's parents in a

dungeon in Mathura where Kr i shna was born . The Archeo log ica l Survey o f Ind ia has found the

ja i l i n wh ich A ja tasat ru , conf ined h i s fa ther , B imbisara a t Ra jgr iha , the cap i ta l o f Magadha-

the modem B ihar ) . The pre -Buddh is t j a i l s were sa id to be very c rue l . Here , the inmates were ,

kept in cha ins and under heavy loads . Whipp ing was a da i ly rout ine in these ja i l s . Account o f

Ashoka 's Naraka (he l l ) was inc luded in the wr i t ings o f Hu ien Tsang and Fa-H ien Po l i shed

t reatment o f p r i soners was unknown in th i s per iod . Dur ing Mus l im per iod , o ld fo r ts and

cas t les served the purpose o f regu lar pr i sons . These pr i sons were not as c rue l as the pre

Buddh is t p r i sons .

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRISON SYSTEM

Unt i l the la te 18th century , p r i sons were used main ly fo r the conf inement o f debtors who

cou ld not meet the i r ob l igat ions , o f accused persons wa i t ing to be t r ied , and o f conv ic ts who

were wa i t ing fo r the i r sentences - -e i ther death or ban ishment - - to be put in to e f fec t . But

impr i sonment gradua l ly came to be accepted not on ly as a dev ice fo r ho ld ing these persons

but a l so as a means o f pun ish ing conv ic ted c r imina ls . Dur ing the 16th century a number o f

houses o f cor rect ion were es tab l i shed in Eng land and on the Cont inent fo r the re form o f

minor o f fenders . The main emphas is was on s t r i c t d i sc ip l ine and hard labour . The unsan i tary

cond i t ions and lack o f p rov i s ions fo r the we l fa re o f the inmates in these houses o f cor rect ion

soon produced widespread ag i ta t ion fo r fu r ther changes in methods o f hand l ing c r imina ls .

So l i ta ry conf inement o f c r imina ls became an idea l among the ra t iona l i s t re formers o f the

18th century , who be l ieved that so l i tude wou ld he lp the o f fender to become pen i tent and

that pen i tence wou ld resu l t in re format ion . Th is idea was f i r s t t r ied out in the Un i ted States ,

a t Eas tern State Pen i tent ia ry , wh ich was opened on Cher ry H i l l i n Ph i lade lph ia in 1829. Each

pr i soner o f th i s ins t i tu t ion remained in h i s ce l l o r i t s ad jo in ing yard , work ing a lone at t rades

such as weav ing , carpent ry , o r shoemak ing , and saw no one except the o f f i cers o f the

ins t i tu t ion and an occas iona l v i s i to r f rom outs ide . Th is method o f p r i son management , known

as the "separate sys tem," became a mode l fo r pena l ins t i tu t ions const ructed in severa l o ther

U .S . s ta tes and throughout much o f Europe.

Meanwhi le , a compet ing ph i losophy o f p r i son management known as the "s i lent sys tem"

arose . The main d i s t ingu ish ing feature o f th i s sys tem was that pr i soners were a l lowed to

work together in the dayt ime. S i lence was s t r i c t l y en forced at a l l t imes , however , and at

n ight the pr i soners were conf ined in ind iv idua l ce l l s . V igorous compet i t ion between

suppor ters o f the s i lent sys tem and o f the separate sys tem preva i led unt i l about 1850, but

by that t ime the s i lent sys tem had been v ic tor ious in most U .S . s ta tes .

The mark sys tem was deve loped about 1840 by Capta in A lexander Maconoch ie a t Nor fo lk

I s land , an Eng l i sh pena l co lony located east o f Aust ra l ia . Ins tead o f serv ing f i xed sentences ,

p r i soners there were requ i red to earn marks or c red i ts propor t iona l to the ser iousness o f

the i r o f fenses . Cred i ts were accumulated through good conduct , hard work , and s tudy , and

cou ld be den ied or subt racted fo r indo lence or misbehav iour . When a pr i soner obta ined the

requ i red number o f c red i ts he became e l ig ib le fo r re lease . The mark sys tem presaged the

use o f indeterminate sentences , ind iv idua l i zed t reatment , and paro le . Above a l l i t

emphas ized t ra in ing and per formance, ra ther than so l i tude , as the ch ie f mechan isms o f

re format ion . Fur ther re f inements in the mark sys tem were deve loped in the mid-1800s by S i r

Wal ter Cro f ton , d i rec tor o f I r i sh pr i sons . I r i sh inmates progressed through three s tages o f

conf inement before they were re turned to c iv i l i an l i fe . The f i r s t por t ion o f the sentence was

served in i so la t ion . Then the pr i soners were a l lowed to assoc ia te w i th o ther inmates in

var ious k inds o f work pro jec ts . F ina l l y , fo r s ix months or more before re lease , the pr i soners

were t rans fer red to " in termediate pr i sons , " where inmates were superv i sed by unarmed

guards and g iven su f f i c ient f reedom and respons ib i l i ty to permi t them to demonst rate the i r

f i tness fo r re lease . Re lease was a l so cond i t iona l upon the cont inued good conduct o f the

o f fender , who cou ld be re turned to pr i son i f necessary . Many features o f the I r i sh sys tem

were adopted by re formator ies const ructed in the Un i ted States in the la te 19th century fo r

the t reatment o f youth fu l and f i r s t o f fenders . The leaders o f the re formatory movement

advocated the c lass i f i ca t ion and segregat ion o f var ious types o f p r i soners , ind iv idua l i zed

t reatment emphas iz ing vocat iona l t ra in ing and indust r ia l employment , indeterminate

sentences and rewards fo r good behav iour , and paro le or cond i t iona l re lease . The

re formatory ph i losophy gradua l ly permeated the ent i re U .S . p r i son sys tem. The I r i sh sys tem

and the Amer ican innovat ions had great impact upon European cor rect iona l p ract i ces in the

20th century . There are severa l jus t i f i ca t ions fo r the use o f incarcerat ion in the c r imina l

jus t i ce sys tem. I t i s seen as an e f fec t ive fo rm o f pun ishment , the threat o f wh ich serves as a

deter rent to potent ia l c r imina ls . And by i so la t ing a conv ic ted o f fender fo r lengthy per iods o f

t ime, soc ie ty i s thereby protected f rom the c r imes he might have commit ted wh i le f ree .

Moreover , the cont ro l led env i ronment o f a pr i son o f fe rs oppor tun i t ies fo r the rehab i l i ta t ion

o f c r imina ls th rough counse l ing serv ices , educat ion , vocat iona l t ra in ing , and so on . These

arguments assume that the i so la t ion o f the o f fender i s not outwe ighed by the poss ib i l i ty o f

h i s becoming more c r imina l wh i le in pr i son , and that the soc ia l and economic cos ts o f

i so la t ing the c r imina l f rom the res t o f soc ie ty are less than those incur red i f he had been

le f t f ree .

PRISONS IN MODERN PERIOD

J a i l s , in the modem sense , a re products o f the las t century . I t i s a legacy o f Br i t i sh ru le . E C

Winese observed that , ' the pr i son sys tem in Ind ian Empi re , l i ke the Br i t i sh ru le i t se l f in that

count ry , has grown up by degrees , unt i l , as the empi re was conso l idated and order

in t roduced in to a l l depar tments o f the Government , the t reatment o f c r imina ls took i t s p lace

among the recogn ized branches o f the jud ic ia l admin is t ra t ion ' . H S St ra tchey made a survey

o f ja i l accommodat ion throughout the ter r i to r ies o f the East Ind ia Company in 1805. Before

1835, ' there were 43 c iv i l , 75 c r imina l and 68 mixed ja i l s ' i n the ter r i to r ies under the

company" .

A) . Lord McCau ley Commiss ion Repor t , 1835

T i l l 1836, pub l i c a t tent ion was not s t rong ly drawn to pr i sons . The murder o f Thomas

R ichardson , the Mag is t ra te o f 24 Parganas and the Super in tendent o f the ja i l , a t the

Pres idency o f Ca lcut ta , was the mov ing cause o f pub l i c a t tent ion to the ja i l p rob lem" ' . About

th i s inc ident , E C Wines wrote , " the murder o f the Governor o f the most impor tant pr i son in

Ind ia was the immediate mov ing cause o f the broad and exhaust ive enqu i ry wh ich was a t

once set on foot . The ev idence co l lec ted shows that pr i son d i sc ip l ine had at that t ime on ly

reached the s tage o f deve lopment in wh ich cons iderab le a t tent ion was g iven to the phys ica l

cond i t ion o f the inmates o f the pr i sons . But , not much to the mora l re la t ions and agenc ies .

Th i s repor t was prepared by Lord McCau ley , the then Law Member o f the Supreme Counc i l o f

Ind ia . ) . In th i s repor t Lord McCau ley expressed the idea that ' the best c r imina l code can be

o f very l i t t l e use to a communi ty un less there be a good mach inery fo r the in f l i c t ion o f

pun ishment . Th i s was the ideo log ica l corners tone upon wh ich the pr i sons in those days were

based. The abo l i t i on o f outdoor labor , genera l in t roduct ion o f indoor work , the inaugurat ion

o f separate sys tem, bet ter c lass i f i ca t ion o f conv ic ts , care fu l separat ion o f unt r ied pr i soners ,

the ins t i tu t ion o f cent ra l o r conv ic t p r i sons , and the regu la t ion o f p r i son sys tem genera l l y by

employment o f inspectors o f p r i sons were the main recommendat ions o f th i s repor t .

B) . The Pr i son D isc ip l ine Commit tee , 1836

Lord Wi l l i am Bent ick appo inted the second commit tee on Jan 2 ,1836 under the Cha i rmansh ip

o f H Shakespeare , a member o f Governor Genera l ' s Counc i l . Th i s commit tee i s known as the

Pr i son D isc ip l ine Commit tee . They submi t ted a repor t in 1838 to Lord Auck land. The major

observat ions are " the rampant cor rupt ion in the es tab l i shment , l ax i ty o f d i sc ip l ine , and the

sys tem of employ ing pr i soners on ext ra - mura l l abor ' . The commit tee recommended

increased r igorous t reatment and re jec ted a l l not ions o f re forming c r imina ls th rough mora l

and re l ig ious teach ing , educat ion or any sys tem of rewards fo r good conduct" . In ter a l ia i t

recommended separat ion o f unt r ied pr i soners f rom the conv ic ted ones . Another notab le

recommendat ion o f th i s commit tee i s the request fo r es tab l i sh ing the 'o f f i ce o f Inspector

Genera l o f P r i sons ' .

F i rs t Inspector Genera l o f P r i sons was appo inted in Ind ia in 1844, fo r the then Nor th West

P rov ince . Th is pos t was made permanent in 1850. In those days IG (Pr i sons) were medica l

doctors . In 1858 the Roya l P roc lamat ion was i ssued and the respons ib i l i ty o f the

admin is t ra t ion was assumed by the Br i t i sh Crown. Wi th the enactment o f Ind ian Pena l Code)

1860 (see Ch . I I & I I I ) p r i sons metamorphosed in to the most impor tant ins t rument o f pena l

admin is t ra t ion .

C) . Commiss ion o f Ja i l Management and D isc ip l ine , 1864

A second commit tee was appo inted in 1864 to recons ider the who le quest ion addressed by

the f i r s t commit tee . S i r J ohn Lawrence 's examinat ion o f the cond i t ion o f the ja i l s in Ind ia led

Lord Da lhous ie to appo int th i s Commiss ion o f Ja i l Management and D isc ip l ine . The Br i t i sh

reg ime was on ly in teres ted in the pr i son f rom the po in t o f v iew o f admin is t ra t ion and

d i sc ip l ine . Th i s commiss ion made spec i f i c recommendat ion regard ing the accommodat ion ,

improvement in d ie t , c lo th ing , bedd ing , med ica l care o f the pr i soners and fo r the

appo intment o f Med ica l Of f i cers in ja i l s . Th i s commiss ion f i xed the requ i red min imum space

fo r one pr i soner as 54 sq . f t . and 640 cub ic f t . The commiss ion a l so recommended the

separat ion o f male pr i soners f rom females and ch i ld ren f rom adu l ts .

D) . The Ca lcut ta Conference o f 1877

A conference o f exper ts was convened in 1877 at Ca lcut ta to inqu i re in to pr i son

admin is t ra t ion . Th is commiss ion in Br i t i sh Ind ia or " conference" as i t was ca l led , on pr i sons

and conv ic t t reatment in Ind ia was summoned by the imper ia l government . Th i s commit tee

was const i tu ted on ly w i th o f f i c ia l s ac tua l ly engaged in pr i son work . I t s s tud ies and

conc lus ions extended over the who le f ie ld o f p r i son d i sc ip l ine and admin is t ra t ion . One o f the

major f ind ings o f th i s commiss ion i s that " the var ious laws re la t ing to pr i sons have been

passed are incomplete , imper fect and nowhere lay down great lead ing pr inc ip les o f p r i son

d i sc ip l ine . ' The remedy proposed by the conference o f 1877 was the enactment o f a new

pr i son law, wh ich cou ld secure un i fo rmi ty o f sys tem at leas t on such bas ic i ssues as the

reckon ing o f the terms o f sentence .

E) . The Four th Ja i l Commiss ion , 1888

I n 1888, the four th ja i l commiss ion was appo inted by lo rd DufFer in to inqu i re in to the fac ts

o f p r i son . Th is commiss ion rev iewed the ear l ie r repor ts ( repor ts o f 1836, 1864, and 1877)

and made an exhaust ive inqu i ry in to a l l mat ters connected w i th ja i l admin is t ra t ion . I t was o f

the op in ion that un i fo rmi ty cou ld not be ach ieved wi thout enactment o f a s ing le Pr i sons

Act" . I t a l so recommended the set t ing up o f j a i l hosp i ta l s .  

F) The Pr i sons Act , 1894

Based on the 1888 Ja i l Commiss ion 's repor t , a conso l idated pr i son b i l l was prepared . Th is b i l l

was la ter passed. Thus came in to be ing the Pr i sons Act , 1894 wh ich i s the ex i s t ing law

govern ing the management and admin is t ra t ion o f p r i sons in Ind ia . Th i s Act , as i t i s , based on

deter rent pr inc ip les concerned more w i th pr i son management than wi th the t reatment o f

p r i soners and gave more cons iderat ion to pr i son o f fences and pun ishments than to the i r

e f fec t .

G) . The Ind ian Ja i l Commit tee 1919-20

The prob lems o f p r i son management and admin is t ra t ion cont inued. The Ind ian Ja i l Commit tee

1919-20 made the f i r s t comprehens ive s tudy o f these prob lems in the present century . Th i s

commit tee repor t was t reated as a turn ing po in t o f the pr i son re forms in the count ry . The

commit tee depar ted f rom the v in tage theoret i ca l bas i s o f p r i son admin is t ra t ion - (deter rents )

and advocated fo r a new out look to the pr i sons . For the f i r s t t ime in the h i s tory o f p r i sons ,

' re format ion ' and ' rehab i l i ta t ion ' o f o f fenders were ident i f i ed as the ob ject ives o f p r i son

admin is t ra t ion . The commit tee a l so recommended the care o f c r imina ls shou ld be ent rus ted

to adequate ly t ra ined s ta f f , re jec ted the idea o f excess ive employment o f conv ic t o f f i cers

and recommended the reduct ion o f such excess ive employment . The commit tee condemned

the presence o f ch i ld ren in ja i l s and recommended the es tab l i shment o f ch i ld ren 's cour t and

the juven i le homes . Under some pretext o r o ther the recommendat ions o f the Ind ian ja i l

commit tee 1919-20 were not implemented . S t i l l they serve as a gu id ing s tar fo r pr i son

re forms in Ind ia . Government o f Ind ia Act 1919 le f t the sub ject o f p r i sons to the

cons iderat ion and judgments o f o f the prov inc ia l Governments w i thout any e f fec t ive cont ro l

and superv i s ion o f the cent ra l Government . As an obv ious resu l t , the prov inc ia l Government

accorded low pr io r i ty to the pr i son re forms. However , the per iod f rom 1937 to 1947 was

impor tant in the h i s tory o f Ind ian pr i sons because i t a roused pub l i c consc iousness and

genera l awareness fo r pr i son re forms at leas t in some progress ive s ta tes (Mysore , UP ,

Bombay etc . ) . The f reedom movement a l so added momentum to th i s awareness . The

const i tu t ion o f Ind ia , wh ich came in to fo rce in 1950, re ta ined the pos i t ion o f Government o f

Ind ia Act , 1935, in the mat ter o f p r i sons and kept pr i sons as a S tate sub ject by inc lud ing i t

in L i s t I I - Sate L i s t o f the Seventh Schedu le ' " Dur ing the ear ly 1950 's a number o f j a i l re form

commit tees were appo inted by var ious s ta te governments w i th the a im o f ach iev ing the goa l

o f humanizat ion in pr i sons and to put the t reatment o f o f fenders on a sc ient i f i c foot ing .

H) . Reck less Commiss ion Repor t , 1952

Whi le loca l commit tees were be ing appo inted by the s ta te governments to suggest pr i son

re forms, the government o f Ind ia inv i ted techn ica l ass i s tance in th i s f i e ld f rom the Un i ted

Nat ions . Dr W C Reck less , a UN Exper t on cor rect iona l work , v i s i ted Ind ia dur ing the years

1951-52 to s tudy pr i son admin is t ra t ion in the count ry and to suggest ways and means o f

improv ing i t . H i s repor t ' J a i l Admin is t ra t ion in Ind ia" i s another landmark in the h i s tory o f

p r i son re forms. He made a p lea fo r t rans forming ja i l s in to re format ion centers and advocated

es tab l i shment o f new ja i l s . He opposed the hand l ing o f juven i le de l inquents by cour ts , j a i l s ,

and po l i ce meant fo r adu l ts . He a l so advocated the detent ion o f the persons commit ted to

the pr i son custody and for the i r re format ion and rehab i l i ta t ion . The rev i s ion o f outdated ja i l

manua ls and in t roduct ions o f lega l subst i tu tes fo r shor t sentences were recommended by

h im.  

The Al l India Ja i ls Manual Committee 1957-59

The Government o f Ind ia appo inted the A l l Ind ia Ja i l s Manua l Commit tee to prepare a mode l

pr i son manua l . The Commit tee was a l so asked to examine the prob lems o f p r i son

admin is t ra t ion and to make suggest ions fo r improvements to be adopted un i fo rmly

throughout the count ry . The repor t o f the A l l Ind ia Ja i l s Manua l Commit tee and the mode l

P r i son Manua l p repared and presented by that Commit tee to the Government o f Ind ia in the

year 1960 are commendab le documents on Pr i sons . They not on ly enunc ia ted pr inc ip les fo r

an e f f i c ient management o f p r i sons but a l so lay down sc ient i f i c gu ide l ines fo r cor rect ive

t reatment o f p r i soners . Whi le lay ing down the gu id ing pr inc ip les fo r pr i son management , the

commit tee wrote " the ins t i tu t ion shou ld be a cent re o f cor rect iona l t reatment , where major

emphas is w i l l be g iven on the reduct ion and re format ion o f the o f fender . The impacts o f

ins t i tu t iona l env i ronment and t reatment , sha l l a im at produc ing const ruct ive changes in the

o f fender , as wou ld be hav ing pro found and las t ing e f fec ts on h i s hab i ts , a t t i tudes ,

approaches and on h i s to ta l va lues o f l i fe . " The Ja i l Manua l Commit tee 's major

recommendat ions touched upon the fo l lowing aspects"

1. Headquar ters o rgan izat ion . 2. Divers i f i ca t ion o f ins t i tu t ions based on sex , age , c r imina l record , secur i ty cond i t ion ,

and t reatment . 3. Arch i tec ture and bu i ld ing . 4. Accommodat ion . 5. Const i tu t ion o f Adv isory boards . 6. Recru i tment , se lec t ion and t ra in ing o f p r i son personne l . 7. Disc ip l ine . 8. Bas ic fac i l i t i es . 9. Dai ly rout ine and educat ion o f p r i soners . 10. Vocat iona l t ra in ing . 11. Af ter care and rehab i l i ta t ion . 12. Categor i zat ion o f p r i soners ( i .e . ; UTP , women, l i fe conv ic ts , hab i tua l o f fenders , lunat i cs ,

juven i les e tc . ) .

Al l India Committee on Ja i l Reforms 1980-83

I n 1980 Government o f Ind ia const i tu ted A l l Ind ia Commit tee on Ja i l Re forms under the

cha i rmansh ip o f Jus t i ce Anand Nara in Mu l la . The recommendat ion o f th i s commiss ion ,

un iversa l l y known as MULLA COMMISS ION const i tu te a landmark in the re formatory approach

to pr i son re forms. The commiss ion made thorough s tudy o f the prob lems and produced an

exhaust ive document .