In Brief

This writ petition addresses systemic deficiencies in prison administration across Indian states and union territories. The Court, acting on amicus curiae submissions, issued comprehensive directions requiring: (1) immediate recruitment to fill 27,000 staff vacancies; (2) preparation of standardized training manuals for prison staff by March 2017, given that only 7,800 of 50,000 staff had received training; (3) an audit scheme to address vast discrepancies in per-inmate expenditure (ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹83,691 annually); and (4) verification that Boards of Visitors exist and implement their recommendations. All states and Union Territories must cooperate and provide data, with threat of heavy costs for non-compliance. The matter was listed for further hearing on prison conditions and unnatural deaths in custody.

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