Prisoners who get serious work injury to get compensation from jail, says HC
The court said that a convict may not spend the rest of his life in jail and there is life beyond jail after he is released after serving his entire sentence
Prisoners who suffer from a disability due to a work-related injury in prison will now be entitled to essential interim compensation from jail authorities, the Delhi high court has ruled, while laying down guidelines for such prisoners to avail compensation and treatment.
Saying even prisoners have a fundamental right for justice and compensation as per the law, justice Swarna Kanta Sharma in a Friday ruling said the “State’s duty to provide a safe environment and basic facilities as per Prison Rules is well established by case law”.
Hearing a plea by Ved Prakash, who is currently incarcerated in Tihar jail and sought a functional prosthetic surgery for his three fingers that were amputated during work in the prison factory, justice Sharma noted that currently, there are no guidelines for the compensation for such inmates in the Prison Rules, even though there are more than 1,900 Rules.
The court said that human rights of the prisoners are often ignored, adding, “The fundamental rights should not remain on paper, and it is the duty of courts to ensure that they become living law and in practicality assist, help and guide the citizens. The injury and disability suffered by the applicant in this case cannot be assessed to be lesser in pain and suffering compared to a free citizen. Pain from an injury cannot be different for a convict and a free citizen.”
The court said, “The equality before law in certain cases… which is bodily injury suffered by an individual whether a free citizen or an under trial or a convict and his right to compensation cannot be on different criteria except as provided under law.”
The court noted that there are no rules dealing with the state compensating prisoners against industrial injury or occupational diseases in Delhi.
“There is no mention in either Delhi Prisons Act, 2000 or Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 as to what happens to the loss time wages of the convict who was not able to work after his accident having suffered amputation as in present case where the petitioner lost three fingers of his right hand for a considerable period of time. There is no mention regarding the pain and suffering due to the accident in question and about future loss of prospects a convict suffers once he is released from prison,” the court noted.
The court said that merely stating that the case can be referred to Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) so that they can assist to provide compensation to the petitioner in accordance with the victim compensation assessment committee, is not a permanent solution to the problem.
“The victim compensation scheme of DSLSA is in a different context and works within its framework, under which the present facts do not fall. Since the question of fundamental right of the prisoners is in issue and the legal position of they being on different footing than a workman and not under the fault of employee/employer relationship, a specific mechanism in relation to the issue in question is the requirement of the day,” the court said.
Prakash in his plea said in January 2021, three fingers of right hand had to be partially amputated following an accident while he was working on a rag chopper machine in the paper unit of the jail factory of Central Jail no. 2, Tihar.
He was immediately taken to the dispensary attached to Central Jail no. 2, and after receiving first aid, he was taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital to the plastic surgery department. During the course of medical treatment, it was found that there was total amputation of the index finger, middle finger and ring finger of the right hand of the petitioner.
While asking jail authorities to decide on the petitioner’s application for a functional prosthetic surgery within three months, the court said even prisoners have the fundamental right to get justice and compensation as per law.
Laying down the guidelines for treatment and compensation in such cases, justice Sharma directed if a convict suffers work-related amputations or life-threatening injuries, the jail superintendent will be duty-bound to immediately inform the concerned jail inspecting judge within 24 hours from the incident.
The judge said the “essential interim compensation will be provided to such victim in case of amputation or life threatening injury”, adding that this arrangement will remain in place until necessary guidelines in this regard are formulated, or rules are made or amended in this regard or any amendment is brought in the Prison Act, 1894 by the wisdom of the Parliament of India, or in Delhi Prisons Act, 2000 to deal with such situation.
The court said that a three-member committee consisting of the director general (prisons), Delhi, medical superintendent of a government hospital (including, but not limited to, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, and Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital) and Secretary, DSLSA of the concerned district from where the convict has been sentenced, will be constituted, to assess and quantify the compensation to be paid to the victim of such work related injury, after perusing the opinion of a board of doctors which will be constituted at their request by the treating hospital.
The court said that a convict may not spend the rest of his life in jail and there is life beyond jail after he is released after serving his entire sentence.
“While this judgment does not intend to create new rights of prisoners, it expresses and reiterates the recognition of the right to equality, right to life and human dignity of a prisoner who has been convicted. This Court vide this judgment has tried to give meaning to the existing rights of the prisoners,” the court said.