सव भव तु सिखनः ु Annual Report 2022-23 Chapter 7 Thematic Areas 7.1 Safeguarding Criminal Jus ce System 7.1.1 The Commission is deeply concerned about the deplorable state of prisons and other deten on facili es, which are plagued by numerous issues, such as severe overcrowding, understaffing, lack of adequate medical care, physical maltreatment of prisoners, including custodial deaths, lack of infrastructure, poor administra on and inadequate inter-agency communica on, long deten on of those awai ng trial, and insufficient opportuni es for prisoners to communicate with their families. 7.1.2 Custodial brutality and torture are law enforcement overreach by public personnel. Rape, molesta on, torture, and fic ous encounters in police custody, according to the Commission, are evidence of a systemic failure to defend the human rights of one of the most vulnerable and voiceless groups of vic ms. As a result, it is sincerely dedicated to ensuring that such criminal prac ces cease, and human dignity is protected in all circumstances. 7.1.3 The Commission expressed concern that all State/ UT police organisa ons are s ll not fully compliant with the Supreme Court direc ons for the installaon of CCTV cameras having audio recording and night vision at every police sta on with 18 month storage of the recordings. On 22 November 2022, a mee ng was held discuss the measures to be taken to ensure the proper working of the CCTVs at police sta ons with data backup. The mee ng was organised by the Commission as a follow up to the inspec ons of 32 police sta ons in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Jhajjar, and Sonepat districts of Haryana, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts of U ar Pradesh in the backdrop of a case of suicide by an undertrial prisoner in Tihar jail, which prompted the Commission to have a first-hand assessment of the condi on of CCTV cameras in police sta ons in Delhi-NCR by randomly visi ng them. 22 7.1.4 The Member of NHRC along with senior officers visited Beur Central Jail and Chapra District Jail, Bihar, in May 2022 to have an assessment of the condi ons and func oning. Recommenda ons have been sent to the concerned DG (Prisons) for implementa on. The Special Rapporteurs (SRs) of the Commission also visited various Central and District Prisons in Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, etc., for inspec on. A total of 11 visits were made by the SRs, including Tihar Jail, Delhi, Transgender Jail, Jharpara; Central Jail, Hazaribagh; Central Jail, Shimla; amongst others. 7.1.5 A mee ng of the Core Group on Criminal Jus ce System Reforms was held on 10 March 2023. Some of the recommenda ons emanated from the mee ng were: • Unfilled vacancies in the prison se ngs (specially Prison Welfare Officer, Proba on Officers, Psychologists) to be filled on priority; • Sufficient facili es for legal phone calls in the prison should be increased; • The problem of addic on among prisoners should be seen as a health issue rather than a security issue; • Proper psychological facili es for emo onal well-being of the prisoners should be made; • Provisions to provide Psychological First Aid to be made in the prisons; • BPRD Compendium of NGOs working in prisons to be updated to pave way forward for a ercare services; • Facili es for up-skilling, voca onal guidance and means for financial independence to be explored; Chapter 7 - Thematic Areas