The union ministry of home affairs led by Amit Shah is pushing for prisoners’ welfare and modernising jails in India. In a recent letter to states and union territories, the ministry has said that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre will provide the funds for underprivileged prisoners languishing behind bars because of financial constraints.
“…The Government of India has formulated a scheme for support to poor prisoners, whereby it will provide financial support to such poor prisoners who are not being released from jails as they are unable to pay the fine imposed on them or are not able to secure bail due to financial constraints. The States/UTs were informed that expenditure in this regard will be borne by the Central Government and therefore they may take full advantage of this scheme in providing relief to poor prisoners,” the MHA said.
Providing financial support to poor prisoners who are unable to afford their penalties or bail amounts was one of the announcements finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had made in her budget speech this year.
The ministry’s letter added, “Subsequently, Union Home Secretary vide his DO Letter No. 17013/26/2023-PR dated 19.6.2023 (copy attached) had informed the Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs about the scheme and had forwarded a copy of the ‘Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure’ which may be followed in implementation of the scheme.”
The home ministry also said that the states and union territories were inter-alia advised through the guidelines to constitute an ‘empowered committee’ in each district, which will assess the requirement of financial support in each case for securing bail or for payment of fine, etc. And based on the decision taken, the district collector or district magistrate will take necessary action to provide assistance to the prisoner.
“It is expected that the State/UT authorities would have initiated necessary action for constituting the ‘Empowered Committee’ as envisioned in the Guidelines and SOP and would have identified eligible prisoners to whom the benefit of this scheme can be extended. During our recent meetings with the Head of Prisons of all States and UTs, we had requested them to share the details of action taken by them in this regard. However, a response is awaited in the matter,” the MHA said.
Since this is a significant scheme of the Government of India which can have far-reaching effects on the lives of poor prisoners who are not able to secure their release on bail or due to non-payment of fines, the home ministry has requested a review of the matter and confirm to if the empowered committees as envisioned in the guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) have been constituted in all districts of the states/UTs and whether beneficiaries of this scheme have been identified by them.
“The Central Government has made the requisite provision of funds which are ready to be drawn by the States/UTs after following the procedure laid down in the Guidelines/SOP. The State/UT authorities may therefore issue necessary directions to its concerned officers for activating the scheme on urgent basis and provide a confirmation to MHA in this regard,” the ministry said in the letter.
The home ministry has brought bills that will help in decreasing the number of prisoners in jail. Also, jail authorities have been asked to use Aadhaar for verification purposes of prisoners.
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