Home / Crime and Justice / Assam Jails: HIV, Overcrowding Plague Prisons
Assam Jails: HIV, Overcrowding Plague Prisons
12 Sep
Summary
- Gauhati High Court initiated suo motu action on jail issues.
- HIV infections, overcrowding, and mental healthcare deficits highlighted.
- State government ordered to submit detailed action-taken report.
The Gauhati High Court has initiated suo motu proceedings concerning significant health and administrative deficiencies in Assam's correctional facilities. A division bench expressed grave concern over issues such as HIV infections, severe overcrowding, insufficient mental healthcare, a rise in suicides, and prolonged delays in processing remission requests.
The court registered a petition after a media report revealed 38 inmates, including five women, tested HIV-positive at Guwahati Central Jail, with suspected needle-sharing as a transmission mode. Inspection reports further corroborated these grim findings, detailing extreme overcrowding where 42-45 prisoners were confined to small rooms with a single toilet.
Further concerns were raised regarding the complete neglect of mental healthcare within prisons, with a lack of regular psychiatrist visits. The court also noted a disturbing trend of unnatural deaths and suicides, with 27 such cases reported in Assam's jails over the last five years. Delays in remission applications for life convicts, with some proposals pending for two to three years, were also flagged.
