Asian College Of Journalism In Collaboration With India Justice Report: Colloquium On The Prison Systems

Asian College of Journalism in collaboration with India Justice Report is organizing a Colloquium on the Prison Systems

The formal justice system is an essential public resource to be used by all to resolve conflict, adjudicate disputes and remedy wrongs. The justice system is intended to be a universal public good on which the public can rely entirely.

Prisons, as institutions, despite facing growing scrutiny around issues of overcrowding, inadequate medical and particularly mental healthcare, lack of sanitation and hygiene, limited access to quality legal counsel, recidivism rates, and inadequate opportunities for rehabilitation, remain socially, administratively neglected and politically isolated. This results in scarcity of resources for better management coupled with no oversight and transparency which makes prisoners as well as prison staff vulnerable to neglect and violations. While awareness about these issues exists within the bureaucracy and administration, the need for data-driven solutions and informed policy-making is crucial to further reforms in this sector.

The three new criminal laws, the “Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” the “Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,” and the “Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam,” have replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act respectively, effective from 1 July 2024, and the cumulative impact of these laws on the justice delivery system needs to be studied carefully to ensure that the capacities of each sub-system and particularly prisons may be improved optimally.

Date: October 5, 2024 (Saturday)

Venue: Asian College of Journalism Campus,Chennai

Speakers: Ms. Maja Daruwala, Chief Editor, India Justice Report; Justice Mukta Gupta, Former Judge, Delhi High Court; Dr. Vijay Raghavan, Professor, Centre for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work, TISS and Director, Prayas, Mumbai; Justice S. Murlidhar, Former Judge Orissa High Court; Dr. Murali Karnam, Professor of Human Rights and the Director of Access to Justice Program, NALSAR, Hyderabad.