PREAMBLE
The Prison Act is one of the oldest legislation in India which was enacted on 22nd March and enforced on 1st July 1894 dealing with laws related to prisons, and this Act is to amend the law relating to prisons.
The Act is to amend laws relating to prisons except for the territories which, immediately before the 1st November 1956, were composed in the Part B States, and to provide rules for the regulation of such prisons and its smooth functioning.
PROVISION
- Chapter II of the Act deals with maintenance and officers of jail. It deals additionally with accommodation and appointment of staff together with the superintendent, medical practitioner, law officer and other officers as the state government thinks necessary under whose charge the prison can work efficiently. The inspector in – charge is going to be certain to carry out the functions to run the prison in a manner as directed by the state authorities. The state authorities have to be compelled to build proper arrangements for accommodation of prisoners and this Act additionally build provisions to deal with natural calamities like epidemics whereby the prisoners are provided safe custody and temporary shelter throughout that amount on directions of inspector- accountable.
- Chapter III of the Act deals with the duties of officers of the jail as enumerated underneath Section eight to twenty. Superintendent, law officer and associated medical officers, shall represent and constitute the officers of the prison who all are responsible for running the prison efficiently. Superintendent of the prison is to be compelled to follow orders of the officer; they shall examine matters about labour, discipline, punishment, the expenditure of prison furthermore should maintain records of prisoners. Medical practitioner of jail shall be in subordination to the superintendent and is accountable to hold out following functions about hygienic conditions, health, treatment of prisoners, coverage to the superintendent about prisoners seriously affected with an illness etc. except this medical practitioner shall additionally keep a record of all particulars like health, diet, diseases and date of death of a deceased unfortunate person. A superintendent shall maintain all records and shall be in-charge of prisons and documents.
- Chapter IV of the Act deals with admission, removal and discharge of the prisoners. The necessities of this chapter cover that convicts are stepping into jail shall be checked, and everyone their belongings shall be unbroken in the custody of law officers. Therefore the feminine convicts shall be checked solely by feminine officers. A medical practitioner shall examine the criminal convicts, and marks and wounds on his body shall be recorded. An unfortunate person shall solely be aloof from jail premises if, within the opinion of a medical practitioner, he suffers from acute illness.
- Chapter V deals with the discipline of prisoners; it lays few necessities, i.e. that male prisoners shall be separated from feminine prisoners, guilty prisoners from underneath trial prisoners, prisoners underneath the age of twenty one shall be unbroken severally, prisoners sentenced with death sentence shall be unbroken severally from all others.
Civil or associate underneath unfortunate trial persons shall have associate access to commodities from outside the jail subject to examination of the products being received. Such prisoners shall offer themselves with clothing and bedding\s. No part of food, bedding or consumer goods happiness to civil and underneath unfortunate trial persons shall be enabled to be transferred to guilty prisoners.
- Chapter VII deals with the employment of prisoners. Civil prisoners square measure allowable to figure once permission from the superintendent and shall receive earnings for the work done. An unfortunate criminal person shall not work for quite 9 hours and shall work solely just in case of an emergency. All prisoners guilty for brief imprisonment shall be created to figure at intervals the premises.
The Act additionally lays directions on taking care of the health of jailers at intervals in the prison premises. The prisoners shall be subject to regular medical check-up, and sick prisoners shall be supplied with correct treatment and a spotlight.
Sections forty-two to fifty-four deals with offences about jail. Section forty-two lays out who being into or removes from jail prohibited articles, abets offences prohibited underneath Act or communicates with guilty prisoners shall be admonished with imprisonment of six months or with fine of rupees 2 hundred or with each.
Section 52 lays out that just in case an unfortunate person is in a very habit of committing monstrous crime time and once more, he shall be forwarded to the District adjudicator or the other adjudicator of first-class by the superintendent.
The Act underneath section 54 lays social control for offences committed by jail subordinates.
REPEALING PROVISIONS :
Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938), Section 2 and Schedule.
