On Friday, The Supreme Court directed the addition of one judicial officer to the current committee tasked with investigating the safety and circumstances of female inmates in each West Bengal district, in response to the report presented by the Amicus Curiae in the suo motu cognisance case.
It was worrisome to learn that a large number of women inmates in West Bengali jails are pregnant, a fact that the Supreme Court considered suo motu. When the subject was raised in a case involving jail reforms last week, the Calcutta High Court voiced grave concerns.
The report submitted by Senior Advocate Gaurav Agarwal, which claimed that the majority of female inmates were already pregnant when they were sent to jail, was reviewed by a bench made up of Justices Hima Kohli and A. Amanullah. The study included examples of female inmates who were granted release and then became pregnant.
Based on data from ADG & IG Correctional Services on births in West Bengal jails, Agarwal said that 62 births occurred in the jails during the previous four years, and 181 of the children are presently being cared for by their mothers in various prison facilities.
In addition to pushing the Supreme Court to order the top judicial officer in each district to evaluate the security protocols in women’s jails and barracks, Agarwal made a number of reform recommendations for prisons.
The bench issued a brief directive requiring the appointment of a female judicial officer to the committee that now monitors the security and well-being of female inmates in each district. It was also instructed that the superintendent of women’s prisons be included in the committee.
The court instructed the committee to be established in accordance with its earlier decision, broadening its mandate to include the establishment of new prisons and the improvement of facilities in already-existing ones, with a particular emphasis on the requirements of female inmates. The court highlighted the need of receiving information from each state and union territory, and the next hearing was planned for April.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, speaking on behalf of the West Bengal government, alerted the court to the fact that staff members in correctional facilities are exclusively female. She said that males are usually accompanied by women, noting that 159 children are in the company of 126 women. In addition, Arora stated that CCTV cameras were placed all throughout the institution and that twenty women were pregnant when they were admitted.
The recommendation made by the report to look into the availability of enough female staff members for the safety and well-being of female inmates, as well as the necessity of routine health examinations both at admission and on a recurring basis, was appreciated by the court. According to Agarwal’s investigation, which included interviews with jail officials in Delhi, Rajasthan, and Haryana, female jails employ only female officials, with male staff members solely stationed at the gates and perimeter.