The Delhi High Court today issued notice in a plea seeking to declare conjugal visits in prison as a fundamental right of the prisoner and his/her spouse..The petition thus seeks to set aside Rule 608 of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 which allows “interview” in the presence of a prison officer insofar as meeting with one’s spouse is concerned..Notice was issued to the Delhi Government by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Brijesh Sethi in petition filed by advocate Amit Sahni..The petitioner argues that denial of the right to conjugal visits abrogates the basic fundamental rights as well as human rights of inmates in Delhi prisons..The petition explains that a conjugal visit refers to a visit wherein a jail inmate gets to spend time in private with a visitor, usually a legal partner/spouse, and may engage with them sexually..Arguing that the right to procreation survives incarceration, the petition states,.“(The Petition) is solely guided by the plight of many inmates and their spouses who, though not incarcerated, end up suffering the loss of conjugal relationship and the desire of becoming parents.”.The relevance of conjugal visits should be decided from the view point of the spouse of the prisoner, who despite being free, suffers lack of intimacy in their marriage and consequent denial of rights..“…laws in India are framed to preserve family structure and family in Indian society is considered a great institution in itself, denial of conjugal visits defeats the very purpose as lack of social contact can result in families becoming dysfunctional.”.As per the petitioner, research shows that conjugal visits could generate positivity among prisoners and push them towards reformation. The move could also be a preventive step to curb HIV AIDS and high rate of sexual crimes in prisons, it is added..The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate N Hariharan..The matter will be next heard on August 2..Last year, Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court called for the need to implement a scheme for conjugal visits in prisons.
The Delhi High Court today issued notice in a plea seeking to declare conjugal visits in prison as a fundamental right of the prisoner and his/her spouse..The petition thus seeks to set aside Rule 608 of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 which allows “interview” in the presence of a prison officer insofar as meeting with one’s spouse is concerned..Notice was issued to the Delhi Government by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Brijesh Sethi in petition filed by advocate Amit Sahni..The petitioner argues that denial of the right to conjugal visits abrogates the basic fundamental rights as well as human rights of inmates in Delhi prisons..The petition explains that a conjugal visit refers to a visit wherein a jail inmate gets to spend time in private with a visitor, usually a legal partner/spouse, and may engage with them sexually..Arguing that the right to procreation survives incarceration, the petition states,.“(The Petition) is solely guided by the plight of many inmates and their spouses who, though not incarcerated, end up suffering the loss of conjugal relationship and the desire of becoming parents.”.The relevance of conjugal visits should be decided from the view point of the spouse of the prisoner, who despite being free, suffers lack of intimacy in their marriage and consequent denial of rights..“…laws in India are framed to preserve family structure and family in Indian society is considered a great institution in itself, denial of conjugal visits defeats the very purpose as lack of social contact can result in families becoming dysfunctional.”.As per the petitioner, research shows that conjugal visits could generate positivity among prisoners and push them towards reformation. The move could also be a preventive step to curb HIV AIDS and high rate of sexual crimes in prisons, it is added..The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate N Hariharan..The matter will be next heard on August 2..Last year, Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court called for the need to implement a scheme for conjugal visits in prisons.
