Human rights violations in prisons are an offshoot of socio-economic inequalities and other maladies that affected society, former Pro Vice Chancellor of Kerala University and political analyst J. Prabhash has said.
He was delivering a lecture on the topic ‘Human rights in prisons in the changing times,’ organised by the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services as part of a two-day State-level seminar on ‘Correction as a tool for reformation’, which got under way here on Friday.
Dr. Prabhash said that jails cannot be considered as isolated or standalone institutions, but were part of the larger society. “If society functioned in a democratic manner, its reflection will be seen in prisons as well. Human rights violations in jails were closely linked to what extent society is civilised,” he said.
He pointed out that society could be perceived as democratic when there is social trust, inequality remained within ‘manageable limits,’ and when the legal system is robust.
Of the huge number of pendency of cases, a large number pertained to cases that were over a decade old. Notably, there were 36% vacancies in the judiciary, which worsened the situation, Dr. Prabhash said.
Head of the Department of Political Science, Kerala University, Joseph Antony, who moderated the session, said that the element of human rights violations was embedded in the country’s social structure, which was mostly y male-dominated.
Deputy Inspectors General of Prisons B. Pradeep (South Zone) and Sam Thankayyan (Central Zone) also spoke on the occasion.
