Convict moves Kerala High Court seeking increase in wages, permissible phone contacts for prisoners

A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court seeking an increase in the wages paid to the prisoners incarcerated in State jails and an enhancement in the number of approved contacts they are allowed to call via phone [Aneesh Kumar v State of Kerala & Anr]..After a preliminary hearing, Justice N Nagaresh ordered the respondent authorities to file their response by the next date of hearing on December 5..The plea was moved by Aneesh Kumar, a 63-year-old convict who is serving life sentence at the Central Prison and Correctional Home in Kannur.In his plea, Kumar highlighted that while daily wage for prisoners in closed prisons ranges from ₹63 to ₹127, those in open prisons receive ₹170 per day with an additional ₹230 for more work.Citing Article 23 of the Constitution which prohibits forced labor, Kumar argued that the wages currently paid to inmates are much below the minimum wage mandated by the government.As per his plea "a prisoner, like any other non-prisoner, is entitled to certain fundamental rights that no authority has the jurisdiction to revoke."Thus, labour laws must be enforced in prisons as well to prevent arbitrary violation of inmates’ rights, he contended.It is also his argument that fair wages are essential for the meaningful rehabilitation of prisoners and enables them to support themselves as well as their families..In this regard, Kumar also highlighted the disparity in wages between Kerala and Karnataka.In Karnataka, while unskilled prison inmates earn up to ₹524 per day, the skilled inmates earn up to ₹548 after one year, the Court was told.The petitioner also referred to the Model Prison Manual by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)."The Model Prison Manual provides that the wages paid to prisoners should be fair and equitable and the rates should be standardized keeping in view the minimum wages notified by respective state governments from time to time," the plea said..The petitioner also raised concerns over the high cost of phone calls from prisons, currently set at ₹1 per minute.He termed it arbitrary and excessive considering the financial limitations faced by most inmates.Further, the petitioner also raised objection to the restrictions on phone calls including the restriction on the number of approved contacts to whom calls can be made. These restrictions prevents a prisoner from maintaining essential social ties, it was argued.The current limit of three contact numbers is overly restrictive and should be increased to seven, the petitioner said..The petitioner was represented by advocates Prasoon Sunny, Raji S and Ritty K Reji.