Prisons for fugitives as per International norms a pipe dream?

Recently Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked every state to create a special prison which should meet international standards. The directive was aimed at blunting the fugitives’ defence in foreign courts that their human rights will be violated if imprisoned in India, as the prisons do not meet international standards.

“This is needed because fugitives argue in foreign courts that prisons in India are not up to the standards, that their human rights will not be protected. While I do not agree with that, if it is an excuse, why give them that chance? Every state capital should have a cell which conforms to international standards in its entirety,” Shah said while addressing a conference organised by the CBI on ‘Extradition of Fugitives - Challenges and Strategies’, earlier this month.

Shah’s comments assumed significance in the light of the fact that several fugitives, including Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, have raised the issue of “poor conditions” of Indian prisons to counter their extradition in foreign courts.

While the Home Minister has propagated the suggestion to fast track the 338 extradition requests of India which are lying pending with various countries, the suggestion has once again brought to the spotlight the weather beaten issue of the poor state of Indian prisons, which are plagued by overcrowding and unhygienic conditions.

Though it is not at all a bad idea to set up high-quality prisons, the point which arises is that all prisoners then deserve better conditions in Indian jails, as basic human amenities is a right of every individual.

The harsh facts regarding Indian prisons are that they are overcrowded and a majority of them don’t meet the basic hygienic standards.

According to the 2025 India Justice Report, “Despite amended legislation, numerous judicial directions, targetted interventions to reduce populations, and the adoption of the Model Prison Manual 2016 by many states, prison conditions remain lamentable in the country”.

The report which came out earlier this year, further stated that over the last decade, prison populations had surged by nearly 50 per cent. The proportion of undertrials — people awaiting completion of investigation or trial — has escalated from 66 per cent to 76 per cent.

Nationally, average overcrowding in prisons stands at 131 per cent. But a dozen prisons house four times more inmates than they should, the report noted further.

Quoting the Amitava Roy Committee, which was set up by the Supreme Court in 2018 to look into issues of reforms in prison administration and management, the India Justice Report stated that the committee pointed out in its 2023 report, regarding ‘inhuman conditions in 1,382 prisons’, to the court that only 68 per cent of the inmates had adequate sleeping space.

Though budgets have increased, human resources and infrastructure simply cannot keep pace.

All too often a single doctor is available for hundreds of inmates, grossly exceeding the stipulated benchmark of 300 inmates per doctor, the Amitava Roy panel had observed further.

In a telling comment, the Committee noted that “a lack of trained welfare officers, social workers, and psychologists ensures prisoners often leave in a worse condition than when they entered, increasing recidivism and further burdening the justice system”.

In such a scenario, a lot needs to be done by the Government before it can think of setting up at least one prison of international standard in every state capital.

Unless basic living conditions are not improved and decongestion of prisons is not undertaken with a serious intent, the objective of setting up an international standard prison or a cell is likely to remain a pipe dream.