55. Extramural custody, control and employment of prisoners.— A
prisoner, when being taken to or from any prison in which he may be lawfully
confined, or whenever he is working outside or is otherwise beyond the limits of any
prison in or under the lawful custody or control of a prison officer belonging to such
person, shall be deemed to be in prison and shall be subject to all the same incidents
as if he were actually in prison.
56. Confinement in irons.—Whenever the Superintendent considers it
necessary (with reference either to the state of the prison or the character of the
prisoners) for the safe custody of any prisoners that they should be confined in irons,
he may, subject to such rules and instructions as may be laid down by the Inspector
General with the sanction of the State Government, so confine them.
SYNOPSIS
1. Confinement in irons- Only in
gravest situation.
3. Order to remove leg irons from the feet
of the undertrial prisoners and to desist
from taking work from them.
2. Legal aid- To undertrial prisoners
a fundamental right enshrined in
Article 21 of Constitution.
4. Removal of fetters—Not to be ordered
by Sessions Judge as visitor of jail.
1. Confinement in irons—Only in gravest situation.—To fetter prisoners in
irons is an inhumanity unjustified save where safe custody is otherwise imposible.
The routine resort to handcuffs and irons be speaks aborbority hostile to our goal of
human dignity and social justice. [Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, 1980 Cri LJ
1099 : AIR 1980 SC 1579 : (1980) 2 SCR 557 : (1980) 4 SCC 488].
2. Legal aid—To undertrial prisoners a fundamental right enshrined in
Article 21 of Constitution.— Since the trial Court has not made any profess for the
last over eight years. The Session Judge is directed to take the case immediately and
to proceed it from day to day without any interruption. These petitioners will be
provided legal representation by fairly competent lawyers at the cost of the State
since legal aid has been declared to be a fundamental right implicit in Article 21 of
the Constitution. [Kadra Pehadiya v. State of Bihar, 1981 Cri Lj 481 at 482 (SC) :
AIR 1981 SC 939].
3. Order to remove leg irons from the feet of the undertrial prisoners and to
desist from taking work from them.—The Superintendent of Pakud sub-jail is
directed to explain as to why he kept the four petitioners in leg irons contrary to the
law of the land and exacted work from them when they are merely undertrial
prisoners. [Kadra Pehadiya v. State of Bihar, 1981 Cri L] 481 at 483 (SC) : AIR 1981
SC 939].
4. Removal of fetters—Not to be ordered by Sessions Judge as visitor of
jail.—There is no provision in the Prisons Act or the Rules framed thereunder as
found in the manual or any other law which empowers the Sessions Judge to pass
order directing removal of fetters placed on the prisoner under the order of the
Superintendent who enjoys statutory discretion to confine a person in fetters if
considered necessary for his safe custody. [Mathu Ram v. State of HP, 1984 Cri LJ
940 at 942 : 1984 Sim LJ 21 (HP)]
57. Confinement of prisoners under sentence of transportation in irons.— 1
[(1) The sentence of imprisonment for life shall be regarded as a sentence of rigorous
imprisonment and the prisoners undergoing such sentence may subject to any rules
made under Section 59, be confined in fetters for the first three months after
admission to prison.]
(2) Should the Superintendent consider it necessary, either for the safe custody
of the prisoner himself or for any other reason, that fetters should be retained on any
such prisoner for more than three months, he shall apply to the Inspector General for
sanction to their retention for the period for which he considers their retention
necessary, and the Inspector General may sanction such retention accordingly.
58. Prisoners not to be ironed by Jailor except under necessity.—No
prisoner shall be put in irons or under mechanical restraint by the Jailor of his own
authority, except in case of urgent necessity, in which case notice thereof shall be
forthwith given to the Superintendent.
59. Power to make rules.—2
[(1)] 3[The State Government may,
3
[by
notification in the Official Gazette] make rules consistent with this Act—
(1) defining the acts which shall constitute prison-offences ;
(2) determining the classification of prison-offences into serious and minor offences;
(3) fixing the punishments admissible under this Act which shall be awardable for
commission of prison-offences or classes thereof ;
(4) declaring the circumstances in which acts constituting both a prison-offence and
an offence under the Indian Penal Code (XLV of 1860) may or may not be dealt
with as a prison offence ;
(5) for the award of marks and the shortening of sentences ;
(6) regulating the use of arms against any prisoner or body of prisoners in the case of
an outbreak or attempt to escape ;
(7) defining the circumstances and regulating the conditions under which prisoners
in danger of death may be released ;
(8) for the classification of prisons, and description and construction of wards, cells
and other places of detention;
(9) for the regulation by numbers, length or character of sentences, or otherwise, of
the prisoners to be confined in each class of prisons;
(10) for the government of prisons and for the appointment of all officers appointed
under this Act;
(11) as to the food, bedding and clothing of criminal prisoners and of civil prisoners
maintained otherwise than at their own cost;
(12) for the employment, instruction and control of convicts within or without
prisons;
(13) for defining articles the introduction or removal of which into or out of prisons
without due authority is prohibited;
(14) for classifying and prescribing the forms of labour and regulating the periods of
rest from labour;
(15) for regulating the disposal of the proceeds of the employment of prisoners;
(16) for regulating the confinement in fetters of prisoners sentenced to transportation;
(17) for the classification and the separation of prisoners;
(18) for regulating the confinement of convicted criminal prisoners under section 28;
(19) for the preparation and maintenance of history-tickets;
(20) for the selection and appointment of prisoners as officers of prisons;
(21) for rewards for good conduct;
(22) for regulating the transfer of prisoners whose term of transportation or
imprisonment is about to expire subject, however, to the consent of the State
Government of any other State to which a prisoner is to be transferred;
(23) for the treatment, transfer and disposal of criminal lunatics or recovered criminal
lunatics confined in prisons;
(24) for regulating the transmission of appeals and petitions from prisoners and their
communications with their friends;
(25) for the appointment and guidance of visitors of prisons;
(26) for extending any or all of the provisions of this Act and of the rules thereunder
to subsidiary jails or special places of confinement appointed under section
5411 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and to the officers employed,
and the prisoners confined, therein;
(27) in regard to the admission, custody, employment, dieting, treatment and release
of prisoners; and
(28) generally for carrying into effect the purposes of this Act.
SYNOPSIS
1. Release of life convict 3. Rejection of parole leave- Properly
2. Release on furlough 4. Pre mature release of convicts.
1. Release of life convict.- It is clear that the convict has not completed the ten
years of imprisonment so he is not entitled to be released . [Peesa Jayalakshmi v.
Principal Secretary, Home Department, Government of A.P., 1977 Cri Lj 2025 at
2027 (AP) (DB); See also Palusani Sahadeva Rao v. State of A.P., 1996 (2) Andh LD
(Cri) 414].
2. Release on furlough - When High Court directed release of prisoner on
furlough on furnishing surety of Rs. 500 lying in deposit with jail authorities while
recommendation of Police was not commented upon the order of release was set
aside. [State of Maharashtra v. Suresh Pandurang Darvalur, AIR 2006 SC 2471 at
2472]
3. Rejection of parole leave - Properly. Where application for parole leave on
ground of illness of son of prisoner was rejected only on the ground of Police report
without considering illness of son, the order was set aside, [Sahebrao Tukuran
Juware v. State of Maharashtra, 2008 Cri LJ 131 at 137 (Bom).
4. Pre mature release of convicts.- Where High Court held that while
remitting sentence no discrimination could be made inter se among the life convicts
and it was challenged the order of High Court was sustained. [State of Haryana v.
Mahendra Singh 2010 (3) SLT 117 (SC)
60. [Repealed]
61. Exhibition of copies of rules.—Copies of rules, under section 59 so far as
they effect the Government of prisons, shall be exhibited, both in English and in the
Vernacular, in some place to which all persons employed within a prison have access.
62. Exercise of powers of Superintendent and Medical Officer.—All or
any of the powers and duties conferred and imposed by this Act on a Superintendent
or Medical Officer may in his absence be exercised and performed by such other
officer as the State Government may appoint in this behalf either by name or by his
official designation.
THE SCHEDULE.—
Enactments Repealed. [Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of
1938),Section 2 and Schedule].