Course correction after Afzal Guru's hanging; new prison manual

NEW DELHI: Government has come out with a new prison manual which will ensure death row convicts get a final meeting with family members before execution and legal aid at all stages even after rejection of mercy petitions.

The new rules came three years after the centre faced flak for not informing the family members of Afzal Guru, the Parliament attack convict, before his hanging in Delhi's Tihar jail.

The new model prison manual consisting of 32 chapters aims at bringing in basic uniformity in laws, rules and regulations governing the administration of prisons and the management of prisoners all over the country.

Provision of legal aid to prisoners sentenced to death at all stages, even after rejection of mercy petitions, facilitating and allowing a final meeting between a prisoner and his family have been incorporated in new Chapter XII (Chapter XI of the 2003 Manual).

Other key changes in the manual for the death row convicts include procedure and channels through which mercy petitions are to be submitted, communication of rejection of mercy petitions and furnishing necessary documents, such as court papers, judgments, to the prisoners.

Regular mental health evaluation for death row prisoners, physical and mental health reports to certify that the prisoner is in a fit physical and mental condition are key provisions, a Home Ministry statement said.

Additional provisions have been made for safety of women prisoners and their reformation.

Health of women prisoners has also been recognised as a focus area warranting special attention. With this in mind, the following have been provided in the revision:

Comprehensive health screening for women prisoners, including tests to determine presence of sexually transmitted or blood-borne diseases, mental health concerns, existence of drug dependency.

This is drawn from the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Female Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders adopted by the UN General Assembly (UN Bangkok Rules), sensitising the staff and imparting training relating to gender issues and sexual violence, educating women about preventive health-care measures and enabling proper counselling and treatment for those suffering from psychological disorders.

Focused after-care and rehabilitation measures to ease women's re-integration into society, restrictions on certain kinds of punishments being awarded to women, for instance, punishment by close confinement should not be awarded to pregnant women, women with infants, counselling programmes focused on women, especially those who have been victims of abuse and focus on removing any further damage that imprisonment may have on a female inmate.