Women to get semi-open, open prisons benefits

The Delhi government on Monday told the Delhi High Court that women prisoners will also get the benefit of treatment at semi-open and open prison, which was hitherto open only to male prisoners.

Semi-open and open prison allows convicts to work outside the premises of jail and earn livelihood and return to the jail in the evening.

The convicted prisoner whose behaviour is assessed to be very good, are kept in such an environment where they can easily reconnect with the society and make better efforts for rehabilitation.

The Delhi government’s counsel told a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar that the Lieutenant-Governor has approved the extension of benefits of semi-open and open prisons to women convicts with immediate effect.

‘No justification’

A petition was filed by Sunil Kumar Gupta, former legal adviser of Tihar Jail, that questioned the guidelines issued in 2012 and then in 2014 which “arbitrarily exclude female convicts from the benefit of treatment of semi-open and open prisons”.

“These guidelines violate fundamental right of equality under Article 14 of the Constitution of India of women prisoners in confined in Delhi Jails,” the petition filed through advocate Amit Khemka said.

The petition has contended that male prisoners are being treated as eligible for being lodged in semi-open and open jails, women prisoners are being excluded from an identical treatment without any reasonable justification.

Mr. Khekma had told the court that Yerwada Jail in Maharashtra and Rajasthan government has extended the benefit of semi-open and open prisons to its women prisoners.

“It is obnoxious that on the one hand, Delhi Prisons claim to be trendsetters of reforms all over the country while on the other hand, the women prisoners are being discriminated in the matter of facilities provided to jail inmates,” the petition said.