Make all prisons disabled-friendly, SC directs states

THe sublime margaret court has directed all states and unification territories to do prisons disabled-friendly and sought-after(a) a compliance report within four months on various aspects related to audit of prison infrastructure for disabled prisoners, their educational and health requirements and effective grievance redressal mechanism.The order was passed early this week by a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist Satyan Naravoor who cited the instances of wheelchair-bound former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and Parkinson-affected Stan Swamy - whose condition deteriorated in jail due to lack of specific care. While Swamy died in incarceration in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, Saibaba passed away a few months after his acquittal in a case where he was alleged to have links with banned Maoist organisation.Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj who appeared for Naravoor informed the court that presently jails are not equipped to keep disabled prisoners who require disabled-friendly spaces, ramps for movement, learning and reading aids for pursuing education, among other needs.As the bench passed the order, it noted that a bench of the top court passed comprehensive directions in July in a case from Tamil Nadu that was restricted only to that particular state.The top court order of December 2 extended the directions passed in the July judgment in L. Muruganantham case to all states and union territories. These directions will now require every prison in the country to identify prisoners with disabilities at the time of their admission, and provide wheelchair-friendly spaces, accessible toilets, ramps and dedicated spaces for their therapeutic needs, in addition to a slew of other requirements.In addition, the court was informed by Naravoor that even if Muruganathan directions are implied, there are still certain gaps. The bench issued additional directions by directing all states and union territories to establish a “robust, independent and accessible grievance redressal mechanism” specifically designed for prisoners with disabilities. The court also directed creation of facilities to ensure that prisoners with disabilities have access to inclusive education within the prison system. “No inmate shall be deprived of the opportunity to pursue educational programmes solely on account of disability, and suitable adjustments shall be made to facilitate their effective participation,” the bench said.The court made section 89 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwd) Act, 2016 applicable to prison establishments across the country. This will require prison authorities to disseminate awareness of the obligations under the Act as section 89 prescribes steep fines for violation of any provision of the Act.While advocate Raj suggested providing assistive devices, mobility aids, and other support equipment to prisoners with disabilities, the court did not issue an order considering the crucial issue relating to prison security and the practical modalities of implementation. It sought response from states and UTs to point out how these devices could be securely provided to eligible inmates.The order further requires all prison establishments to provide enhanced visitation provisions for disabled persons to remain emotionally connected with their families. The court directed the prison manuals to be suitably modified so as to “balance security considerations with the imperative of accessibility and humane treatment”.The court will take up the matter on April 7 and by then, the states and UTs will have to place a comprehensive compliance report setting out the steps adopted, the progress achieved, and the modalities evolved for ensuring faithful implementation of the directions passed by the court both with regard to the present order and the July directions.The Muruganathan judgment was passed by a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan while considering the plight of the petitioner who suffered from Becker’s Muscular dystrophy and was incarcerated for a period of 11 days in 2020 in a Tamil Nadu jail which did not have facilities required for such persons.The court had directed a state-level audit of all prisons in TN by an expert committee to take stock of the health, movement and accessibility conditions of disabled prisoners. Such a committee was to comprise officials from the concerned social welfare department and certified access auditors to prepare the report in six months.It also spoke of providing nutritious and medically appropriate diet for disabled prisoners as per their specific needs and lifesaving treatments, including regular and need-based physiotherapy and psychotherapy, to be made available onsite or through linkage with government health facilities. For this, the prison staff were directed to be suitably trained. Now these requirements, that applied to TN alone, will now extend across the country.