In Brief

This petition, initiated on a former Chief Justice's concerns, challenges the State's governance of prisons addressing overcrowding, unnatural deaths, inadequate and untrained staff. The Court affirmed that public interest litigation concerning prisoner rights is a valid constitutional exercise under Article 21, despite claims of judicial activism. Finding that earlier reform efforts had not achieved finality, the Court constituted a Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms headed by former Justice Amitava Roy to review implementation of various prison guidelines, assess staff adequacy and training, examine violence and medical facilities, and recommend comprehensive reforms in prison administration across Indian states and union territories.

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