Justice Behind Bars: The Legal Fight for Prisoner Rights in Jail No.6, Tihar
By Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita
In June 2020, during the first Covid-19 lockdown in India, we found ourselves inside Jail No.6, the women’s prison in Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi — the largest high-security prison in South Asia. We had been charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and labelled as “terrorists” for our involvement in the peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019. At the time that we entered the prison, the Jail Manual stood suspended, the most basic safeguards guaranteed to prisoners had been withdrawn on the pretext of the pandemic and many repressive and inhuman measures had been instituted for prison discipline and management. It was under such a context that we had filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court seeking various reliefs and reforms inside prison.
The Delhi High Court acknowledged the gravity of the concerns raised in the writ and issued several directives. One of the key issues raised was about contact with the outside world, which had created a very dismal and dire situation for prisoners. Physical mulaqaats (meetings with family) were suspended, replaced by e-mulaqaats, which were rare and inaccessible for many inmates whose families lacked smartphones or stable internet connections. Some prisoners had not spoken or met their families and friends for months. In response to our petition, the court had directed daily calling facilities to be made available to all women prisoners free of charge, which was provided during the second wave of the pandemic. The court also mandated that calling facilities be given to Covid positive inmates in the isolation wards. The court also expanded the frequency of e-mulaqaats to 30mins, once every week. Foreign inmates faced even greater barriers, with video calls facilities completely denied to them. As a result of the court’s intervention, the jail authorities agreed to provide video calling facilities to foreign inmates, except those accused in “terrorist activities and offences against the state”, but that never materialised in the women’s prison. The court also mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for all inmates – only 14 inmates had been vaccinated when our petition had come up for hearing. There were also orders towards procurement of computers and printers for the legal aid room and access to court websites for lawyers visiting prison for improvement of legal aid facilities.
While there were many reliefs provided by the High Court, once we were released on bail in June 2021, the writ petition came to be dismissed on 9th February 2023, leaving many crucial issues that we had raised in the petition unaddressed. Some of them are highlighted below:
The Unjust Deduction of Wages
As per Delhi Prison Rules 2018, prisoners are supposed to be paid minimum wages for prison labour, but with the caveat that so-called “maintenance costs” are to be deducted. At the time when we filed the petition, it amounted to Rs.344/day which was a 63% deduction for unskilled labour, 58% for semi-skilled labour and 52% for skilled labour. An additional 25% of earnings were taken for a victim welfare fund for which there is a complete lack of transparency with regard to the use of funds. By the end of it, inmates were left with just 12% of their earnings—barely enough to buy necessities from the jail canteen, let alone support families outside. These wages are also very crucial for prisoners for paying legal costs and arranging bail sureties, as well as for post prison rehabilitation. It is pertinent to mention here that Indian prisons are disproportionately filled by those who mostly come from working class and historically marginalised communities and religious minorities. Our petition called for an end to these unjust deductions and demanded that prisoners be paid minimum wages without these exploitative cuts. Prison labor is not just underpaid—it is also unpaid. Many prisoners are forced to work beyond the legally permitted hours without additional pay. Some tasks require seven-day work weeks despite rules mandating a weekly rest day. Others, like kitchen workers, spend over eight hours a day preparing food but are paid for just four. We demanded an independent review of work hours and a commitment to ensuring prisoners are paid for every hour they work.
The Right to Education Behind Bars
In the women’s prison, even the basic mandates of educational opportunities to be provided as per the Jail Manual were not being implemented at the time that we were there. Learning opportunities were minimal and the few programs that existed were dysfunctional. The “Pado Padhao” program, for instance, required educated prisoners to teach large groups of inmates with no training, no structured curriculum, and no learning materials. Many women who attended these classes for months still struggled with basic literacy. There was no study center for distance learning programs like IGNOU, and inmates were not even allowed to retain notebooks for study. Our petition called for structured educational programs, access to trained teachers, study materials, and digital learning resources.
Access to Medical Care and Mental Health Support
Mental Health Access inside prison was almost non-existent. Despite being home to thousands of inmates, Tihar Jail had no full-time mental health professionals. Suicides among women prisoners were disturbingly frequent, yet there was no effort to provide therapy or counseling. Meanwhile, physical health care was equally inadequate—prison hospitals lacked staff and resources, and specialist doctors were hard to access. We demanded video conferencing with accredited medical professionals and full-time mental health support in jails.
The Right to Nutritious Food
The prison manual arbitrarily restricts non-vegetarian food, which used to be a staple diet outside for many prisoners. Our petition challenged Rule 1268(k), which prohibited eggs and non-vegetarian food, arguing that such dietary restrictions should not be imposed on prisoners on grounds of right to one’s specific cultural and food habits. We requested for non-vegetarian food to be served as part of the prison diet and for the sale of the same in the prison canteen, ensuring that prisoners had access to diverse, nutritious food options.
Ensuring Justice in Disciplinary Proceedings
The process of awarding “punishments” in prisons is often a very arbitrary and non-transparent process. These punishments get recorded in a prisoner’s file and it can affect her chances of bail and parole. Prison officials wield unchecked power, punishing inmates for minor infractions—or for simply asserting their rights. There is no due process, no opportunity to defend oneself, and no transparency. Our petition sought the right to fair disciplinary proceedings, where prisoners would be informed of charges against them, allowed to present their defense, and have a transparent appeals process.
Reforming Prison Facilities for Women and Children
Women prisoners with children faced unimaginable challenges. The jail’s creche and school had shut down due to the pandemic, leaving children with no learning opportunities. Play areas were minimal, and mothers struggled to access even basic necessities for their children like diapers or hot water during the freezing winters. Meanwhile, children over six were sent to shelter homes and permitted to see their mothers only once every three months. Our petition demanded the reopening of childcare facilities, provision of basic necessities, regular outdoor trips for children, and increased visitation rights for incarcerated mothers.
Prisoners’ Rights Awareness and External Inspections
The petition also sought for the introduction of orientation videos to inform new inmates of their rights, better IT infrastructure, and mandatory human rights inspections to prevent abuse. We demanded the continuation of free phone calls for inmates as well as better recreational and creative avenues for inmates
Prisons continue to remain sites of structural violence, where rights are granted not as entitlements, but as privileges that can be withdrawn at will without any accountability. The dismissal of our petition meant that legal redressal for the issues raised above was halted. The conditions inside Tihar’s women’s prison reflect the broader injustices of the carceral system—where the most marginalized bear the brunt of neglect, exploitation, and repression. It is pertinent that prisons emerge as a crucial site of struggle for our movements, where the carceral system itself is questioned and challenged.
Devangana Kalita is a feminist activist and a PhD student at the Centre for Women’s Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her research work focuses on gender, memory, and labor history. She was arrested in May 2020 and imprisoned for 13 months by the Indian state, charged under a draconian anti-terror law for her participation in the peaceful protests for equal citizenship that demanded the repeal of the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Natasha Narwal is a feminist activist and a PhD scholar at the Law School in the University of Warwick. Her research work focuses on making of women prisoners and postcolonial carcerality in India. She was arrested in May 2020 and imprisoned for thirteen months by the Indian state, charged under a draconian anti-terror law for her participation in the peaceful protests for equal citizenship that demanded the repeal of the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).