Thursday, January 30, 2020

Appreciation of work of PVCHR

The Inspector General of Prison honored Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (#PVCHR) for its outstanding work with the inmates on 26th January 2020. We with the support from Parul Sharma and 200 Swedish donors distributed distributed 50 inner wear, woolen cap and socks to male inmates on 8th January, 2020 and 97 cardigan and 50 socks to female inmates on in District #Jail, #Varanasi. 




It is not the first time but since our inception we are tirelessly working to ensure the rights of the inmates and also for the prison reform. In April, 2011 we in consultation with member organization of NATT officially launched detention watch to monitor any type of detention happening with the adult and children in Judicial Custody, Police Custody, Custody in Remand Home and Administrative Custody to strengthen and expansion of its previous work of PVCHR for focusing on rights of prisoners and rights during the times of detention.




The jails and prisons of Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s poorest and most populous states, are some of country’s most overcrowded, with an occupancy rate of 172 percent compared with the nationwide rate of 112 percent, according to jail administration official R.K. Dwivedi. https://apnews.com/f243f99469654d8da1e375cc73bef283/india-bail-demands-keep-poor-imprisoned-years

In 2013 we intervened with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), New Delhi regarding over crowding and release of inmates.

Kindly refer to your letter dates 21.09.2013 in regard with the status of overcrowding in prisons in Uttar Pradesh.

2- In reference to the above it has to be informed to you that there are 66 prisons under operation in the state where 48970 prisoners are lodged against a total capacity of 8428 which is 172 per cent. For the problem of over crowing in prisons construction of prisons in districts that do not have prisons, additional barracks in present prisons and legal assistance is being provided to those prisoners lodged in prisons under section 436(A) and 436 (1). The details are as follows:

(1)                 The districts where there are no prisons  - Kasganj, Chitrakoot, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ambadkernagar, Shrawasti, bagpat, Sonbhadra, bareilly, Azamgarh – prisons are being constructed which shall increase capacity for 11326 prisoners. Apart from this increase in number of barracks is underway in different prisons, which shall increase the capacity by 1120.
(2)                 Under the CRPc Section 436 (A) and 436 (1) legal assistance is being provides to identified prisoners and their case is being presented before the court. In the year 2013 the total number of such identified prisoners under section 436 (A) and 436 (1) was 2609 and out of these 200 were set free after legal process. Those identified under bailable section 436 (1) 22937 and out of these 19281 could get free.


The strategy of the detention watch are as follows:  1.Policy to practice and
2. Practice to Policy. 



Our strategic actions are as follows which is based on previous experience:
1.   Court Intervention: Public Interest Litigation (PIL)[iv] and writ petition
2.   Meta- Legal Intervention: With various concerned authorities and National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi.
3.   Rehabilitation of the acquitted prisoners.
4.   Policy level intervention for prison reform, advocating for the implementation of various recommendations by the committee and intervention on the trial procedures.
5.   Monitoring the prison and homes through using of Right to Information Act – to know actual knowledge condition of the prisons.
6.   Visit to juvenile home and visit to correction home for women in collaboration with QIC-AC network.
7.   Tracking the cases of custodial death, torture in police custody, administrative custody and homes through various site alerts.


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