Justice Madan B. Lokur Visits Sanganer Open Prison In Jaipur, Admires Its Festive Atmosphere, Says It Leaves A Nice Feeling

The Sanganer Open Prison in Jaipur, with about 400 prisoners, has been open since the 1950s, and has been the subject of several news stories and documentaries, for its reformative, and rehabilitative potential.

In 2018, Justice Lokur, while he was a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court, passed the landmark judgment directing setting up an open prison in each district and urged the Centre to take the lead in framing guidelines. Commenting on the progress so far, he said:

“The time has arrived for implementing the humanitarian idea of open prisons. I urge all State Governments to carry forward the idea and establish an open prison in every district”.

On Friday, Justice Lokur claimed that he has visited Sanganer prison several times, and he expressed his surprise that he did not hear a single instance of any prisoner trying to escape, despite the prison being open. Freedom is given to every prisoner, except that they have to report their leaving the prison for work, and their return. Their earnings outside the prison can be used for their families, he said.

Throwing light on life in the open prison, Justice Lokur said it is like life in every other village: “You are free to do what you want to. Everyone has access to television or radio. There is no segregation between male and female prisoners”.

Justice Lokur said he heard instances of male and female prisoners finding a match, and getting married to each other. Some prisoners also got married, finding a match among non-prisoners, which shows that there is greater acceptability of life in open prisons in the society, he said.

Justice Lokur claimed he saw normal life in the open prison, with schools for children and Anganwadi teachers who are extremely dedicated. He said in regular jails, children of prisoners find it extremely difficult to get education in normal schools, because of social ostracism. As the schools in open prisons are not subjected to any discrimination among children, it is very good for their upbringing, Justice Lokur added.

Justice Lokur, defending the open jails’ access to modern facilities like hospitals, etc., claimed that Sanganer-type of open jails would make the three Rs - Reform, Rehabilitation and Reintegration - possible. Reform is possible in open jails because of interaction of the convicts with the rest of the society, and their realisation that it was because of their good behaviour, that they served their sentences in open prisons. This would accelerate their reform process, Justice Lokur emphasised.

With employment opportunities being made available outside the prison for the inmates of open prisons, their rehabilitation is possible, Justice Lokur said.

On reintegration, Justice Lokur said he found greater acceptability among employers about their employees, if they hailed from open prisons. The society doesn’t segregate these prisoners, and this is a good sign, he said.

Justice Lokur, however, pointed to a few problems in the open jail. School children find the supply of stationery and copies of books inadequate, he said. With the sewage in the open prison, not connected to the mains, there is a huge problem of maintaining cleanliness, and hygiene, he pointed out. With the benefits of Swachh Bharat not reaching these prisons, it can have an impact on the health of the inmates and their families, he cautioned.

Justice Lokur expressed his satisfaction that with the nomination of Sarpanch, the people living in Sanganer have found a mechanism to resolve their petty disputes and grievances. Justice Lokur claimed that he spoke to an auto driver and a woman ‘dabbawalla’ among the inmates and his feeling is that they enjoyed doing all kinds of activities, and that there is a festive atmosphere. It leaves a nice feeling to anyone who visits there, he claimed.

The press conference was addressed by the former chief justice of Rajasthan and Orissa High Courts, Justice K.S.Jhaveri and retired IPS and former Director General (Police and Prisons), Rajasthan, Ajit Singh.

Justice Jhaveri, who commissioned a report on open prisons in Rajasthan in April 2017 (the report was prepared and submitted in November 2017, by the founder of the NGO, Prison Aid and Action Research (PARR), Smita Chakraburtty), said that nearly 80 per cent of the offences are committed because of the heat of the moment, and closed jails would make those convicted for such offences, hardcore criminals. Closed jails lead to depression among the inmates, as they are socially cut-off from the rest of the society. He claimed that open jails are preferable because they would bring the costs substantially down.

Ajit Singh claimed that Rajasthan has a long history of open prisons, and every district in the state now has an open prison. Open prison, he said, gives the inmates confidence, and guarantees reintegration, which is difficult in the closed prison. “The benefits of the open prison model are aligned to basic human rights of justice, liberty and dignity of the prisoner’s. We must not lose momentum in implementing and scaling this across the country”, he suggested.

Ajit Singh claimed that he has heard of several children of the inmates in open prisons, getting admission in IITs. He said that every prisoner in an open prison has to mandatorily perform two-hour community work twice a week,and this takes care of proper maintenance of prisons. Financial implications of running open prisons are far less than the regular prisons, he added. According to him, prisoners in open prisons earn far higher than the Government’s approved wages. “It’s a win-win situation, and the open prisons are waiting to happen. Other countries are looking into it”, he suggested.

3 Supreme Court Judges To Visit

Chakraburtty said it is for the first time that three judges of the Supreme Court - Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S.Ravindra Bhat, and Aniruddha Bose- have agreed to visit the Sanganer open prison, and interact with the prisoners, attending a musical event within the open prison, on Saturday. The judges’ visit will be followed by a special performance by Susmit Bose who is a social change artist and has been using the power of music to highlight human rights.

Describing jail as an invisible institution, she said prisoners are voiceless and silent citizens and it is a paradox that India, despite being the largest democracy in the world, has chosen to normalise caged structures (closed prisons) with human beings living there.