Prisoners are not slaves: Madras High Court on jailors using inmates for domestic work

The Madras High Court on Tuesday urged the State government to send a strong message to prison authorities to curb the misuse of their powers..A Bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam directed the State Police to proceed with the investigation in the case registered against Vellore Central Prison authorities for assaulting and harassing a life convict. It also directed the trial court to conduct the trial in the case expeditiously..The Bench further directed the State government to conduct frequent surprise inspections across prisons to ensure that prison inmates were not engaged by jail authorities for domestic work at their residences.“It is necessary to send a strong message to the Prison Authorities that they are not supposed to abuse their official position. The convict prisoners inside the prison are in disadvantageous position. Therefore, any kind of exploitation by the Prison Authorities cannot be subjected to normal view, but serious actions are highly warranted...When the convict prisoners are utilised for residential works in the residences of the Prison Authorities and monitored by the Subordinate Prison Authorities, both the actions are offences and illegal, and serious actions against such Prison Authorities engaging prisoners as well as the Uniformed Personnel are just and necessary,” the order stated..The Court also recorded the State’s submission that the accused officials had been placed under suspension and that a case had been registered against the three accused officials, including now suspended Deputy Inspector General (DIG), R Rajalakshmi..The Court issued the directions while disposing of a petition filed by one S Kalavathi alleging that her son, TR Sivakumar, a life convict serving his sentence in the Vellore Central Prison, had been assaulted and tortured by the prison authorities and kept illegally in solitary confinement. She further said that the prison authorities were not letting her meet her son and that her representations made to the State had gone unanswered.Kalavathi’s counsel further told the court that Sivakumar had told his lawyers that the prison authorities had illegally employed eight convicts for domestic work at their homes. And in May this year, the DIG and others had beaten him black and blue after making false allegations of theft against him..On August 9, the Court had directed the Vellore Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made in Kalavathi’s petition and to meet Sivakumar and record his statement.The CJM then submitted a report before the Court confirming that Sivakumar and seven others had been engaged by Rajalakshmi at her residence for domestic work such as “cooking, cleaning, gardening, goat herding,” among other things, which was against Rule 447 of the Prison Manual Rules 1983.In May, Rajalakshmi alleged that Sivakumar had stolen ₹4.5 lakh from her residence and got her staff to physically assault him. However, she never registered a police complaint about the theft, the CJM told the High Court.Sivakumar was also kept in solitary confinement for 95 days, the CJM’s report had revealed..On September 5, the High Court had directed the State Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services to initiate departmental action against the erring officials. It also directed the State to shift Sivakumar to Salem Central Prison.On October 24, the State government suspended Rajalakshmi, Additional Superintendent of Vellore Central Prison A Abdul Rahman, and Vellore Central Prison Jailer Arul Kumar..In its latest order, the Court took serious note of the CJM’s report and said that prisoners cannot be tortured or treated in breach of laws.“It is to be understood that prisoners are neither slaves nor are they to be tortured in such inhuman ways to punish them for their crimes. In our legal system, any kind of torture to any fellow human being should be shunned. Human lives have its own value. The convicts ought to be punished only in the manner known to law. Instead torturing them will not mitigate but propagate crimes. Subjecting prisoners to cruelty will propagate further commission of crimes by them,” the High Court said..Advocate P Pugalenthi appeared for the petitioner.Additional Public Prosecutor E Raj Thilak appeared for the State..[Read Order]