Yogi Adityanath says new Prisons Act needed to promote reform
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath directs officials to prepare a proposal to set up open jails in the state as part of prison reforms
Prisons in Uttar Pradesh will be known as reform homes, chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials at a high-level meeting here on Thursday.
He also underlined the need for a new Prisons Act. The Jail Act 1894 and the Prisoners Act 1900 were in vogue since before independence but many of their provisions were not compatible with the changing environment and the reformative ideology of prisoners’ rehabilitation, he said.
He also directed officials to prepare a proposal to set up open jails in the state as part of prison reforms. High- security barracks will be made for hardened criminals and terrorists, he added.
Technology should be used to bring transparency in the working of the prison administration, he said.
Harsh punishment should be given for the use of banned items like mobile phones in prisons, he said.
“The purpose of the Jail Act 1894 is to keep the criminals in custody in a disciplined manner, but we have to focus on reformation and rehabilitation. In such a situation, keeping the future in view, we need to implement new laws,” he said.
Yogi Adityanath said that aspects of jail such as security of prisoners, the way they are treated, heeding to their complaints, provision of separate accommodation for women and transgender, and formation of a prison development board, should be implemented strictly in jails.
Over 4200 CCTV cameras are installed in the jails which are constantly monitored through video walls installed in the headquarters, on which alerts are also received, he said. Drone cameras should be integrated with the videowall and monitored, he said.
He said that at present the entry and exit of prisoners in the prisons of the state is being done through e-prison portal, which is being further bolstered with the use of Prisoners Information Management System, Visitor Management System, E-custody Certificate, and Police Intelligence System.
