Madras High Court judge asks State to consider allowing conjugal visits in prisons for inmates

Madras High Court judge, Justice SM Subramaniam has asked the Tamil Nadu government to consider permitting conjugal visits for prison inmates across the State..Justice Subramaniam directed the State to consider a scheme similar to what is being implemented in Punjab, where low prison inmates are allowed conjugal visits for fixed hours, once every two months.Conjugal visits in the context of prisons refer to the concept of permitting an inmate to spend time in privacy with his or her spouse, within the prison premises, thus allowing for physical intimacy and procreation.While some courts, including the Madras High Court have in the past, granted parole to inmates on the grounds of conjugal rights, in September 2022, the State of Punjab implemented a system of allowing an inmate conjugal visits within the prison premises.The guidelines issued by the Punjab government though, clarify that conjugal visits cannot be claimed as a right. The State allows visits by spouses for two hours once every two months and the visiting spouse is required to furnish a valid ID, proof of marriage and a medical certificate declaring that he or she does not have HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease..“Government of Tamil Nadu is requested to consider implementation of the scheme for extending 'conjugal rights' to the prisoners, which is effectively in force in the State of Punjab and Haryana,” Justice Subramaniam said in an official communication sent to the State authorities on July 25 following a ‘surprise inspection’ he conducted in the Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai..Justice Subramaniam, who is the portfolio judge for the Thiruvallur district, conducted such inspection of the Puzhal prison on July 8. He was also accompanied by the District Judge and the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Thiruvalur.During the inspection, the High Court judge found the prison lacking in several facilities. He then discussed the same with the State government, the State prisons Department, the Police, and other stakeholders and then issued a host of directions to be implemented to spruce up all prisons in the State..Besides proposing the conjugal visits scheme, Justice Subramaniam also ordered the State to ensure that steps are taken to release 38 prison inmates, who despite having been granted bail, were continuing to languish in jail because they could not arrange sureties.“Presently 38 prisoners are languishing in prison for whom Bail had been granted. They are not released from prison for want of production of sureties. As per the judgement of the Apex Court of India, those persons are to be released on furnishing own bond. Necessary steps are to be taken immediately to file modification petitions before the Court concerned for securing necessary orders. Such an action is to be taken through the Legal Services Authority in co-ordination with the prison authorities. We request that the said exercise shall be completed within a period of two (2) weeks from today,” the Court said..The judge also issued a slew of other directions to the State including:- ensuring adequate and timely medical aid for inmates;- installation of fans in prison cells;- regular cleaning of toilets meant for inmates;- ensuring foreign nationals lodged in the Puzhal prison are permitted to establish contact with their families;- appointing a nodal officer for each Central Prison in the State to coordinate with lawyers and provide an effective grievance redressal mechanism for the inmates..The judge also noted that that there were no toilet facilities for women lawyers or women visitors at the Puzhal Central Prison. It, therefore, directed the State to make necessary arrangements immediately..“No toilet facilities are presently available for women visitors and women lawyers nearby the visitors hall. Existing toilet facilities provided for male in the visitors' hall is most unclean and inadequate. Adequate number of toilets are to be provided for women visitors and women lawyers. Additional toilets are to be provided for male visitors and male lawyers and all the toilets are to be properly cleaned and maintained by the prison authorities,” Justice Subramaniam said..[Read Minutes of the Meeting]