Report Sabarmati Jail visit

A report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the continuous evaluation for Litigation Management.

Submitted to: Mr. A. Marisport Gujarat National Law niversit!

Submitted b! Sidhanta "attana!a# $eg No. %&'()( Semester : *th Session:+ ,anuar!+ April+ )%(-

Gujarat national law University, Gandhinagar

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Details of the visit:

.he visit was scheduled on %/th March0 )%(-. .he Ahmadabad 1entral jail is one of the four 1entral jails functioning in the state of Gujarat. 2t covers an area of 3- acre. .he official+in+charge of the Ahmadabad 1entral ,ail is Mr. $.S. 'hagoda 2"S. .he purpose of the visit was to understand the jail administration and the atmosphere in which the convicts are reformed through various productive activities. .he dail! routine of the prisoners start at / AM. .he! are served brea#fast at (% AM. .he rest of the routine involves wor# which is for / hours. .hen the! get their second meal at /o4cloc# after which the! have to disperse to their cell. .he prisoners have given different color uniforms depend on the time the! have spent in the jail. 5resh inmates wear white uniforms while seniors who served more than 3 !ears wore white+pajamas and !ellow trousers along with !ellow cap. 5irst we were ta#en to the 1ourt $oom inside the jail. 2t was the cit! sessions court 'adra. .he 1ourt e6clusivel! tried the )%%7 Ahmadabad serial blasts. .he trial was going on when we visited and the same was monitored b! 11.8 in a separate room. Ne6t we were ta#en to 11.8 room of the jail. .he whole securit! of the jail was monitored through 11.8 cameras fi6ed at various corners inside the jail. Authorities informed as a total of -/% cameras were installed for the surveillance of about 9)%% inmates. .he unique feature of the 11.8 networ# is that it is operated b! an 2" based networ# which prevents in tampering with the video footages. 5urther0 another set of -% cameras are installed for monitoring the serial blast convicts and accused. :e were then ta#en to Gandhi ward ;also #nown as Gandhi #ohli<. .his is the cell bloc# in the central jail where Mahatma Gandhi was lodged from (( th March0 (&)) to )%th March0 (&)) before he was shifted to =erwada ,ail0 "une0 following the 1hauri 1haura incident. A few articles used b! the Mahatma during his sta! in this cell have also been #ept in this cell. .he! include a chair0 a bowl and char#ha which the Mahatma used for the (% da!s that he was there. .he original structure of the jail is #ept intact despite the recent renovation.

Ne6t was the carpentr! section0 where the inmates made furniture items li#e cupboards0 tables0 chairs0 etc. .his furniture made was supplied to various government offices and places li#e >istrict courts etc and used also in the jail. .he! were paid ?3% 2N$ as wages. .he wage brea# up as 93% 2N$ paid individuall! and rest for savings and coupons for bu!ing necessities.

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5rom there we were ta#en to the power loom sections. A total of 3 power looms were present in the section. @ere inmates made clothe materials that are used in ma#ing file cover in courts0 inmate dresses and barrac#s. Ne6t was the #itchen section. Mostl! mechaniAed this facilit! ma#es food for inmates. .he food was tested routinel! b! the doctor as well as the jail superintend. 5ood was distributed at two timings of (%.%% AM and /.%% "M. .he overall cleanliness and wor# discipline in #itchen was noteworth!. And it is interesting to note that most of the machines were hand made b! the prisoners0 li#e the roti ma#er. Ne6t to that was the ba#er! section was preparing snac#s. .his section supplied food to the cit! civil hospital as well as the mental hospital. An outlet is also provided at the $.B roundabout0 some two #ilometers from the jail. Ne6t was the paid canteen section0 potter! section and the librar!. .he coupons the inmates earn through wor# and mone! order are used here to bu! things. .he paid canteen also utiliAed this coupon s!stem. .he librar! had a fair number of boo#s in three languagesC @indi0 Gujarati and Dnglish. .here was one computer provided as well. 5urther we visited the tailoring department. .his section made the clothes and other clothing for inmates and police personal. .he! also ma#e bags. Bnl! s#illed inmates were used in this section. Ne6t in was the woman prison named as EAsho#a 8ati#aF. 2t had a ver! small compound comparing the men4s ward. .he da! to da! happenings of the jail were e6plained to us b! one Mrs. ,aini Shu#la0 an under trial who was serving there for the past (7 months. She was also the woman warden in the jail. 'ased on the good conducts woman inmates are offered such posts in woman jail. She e6plained the da! to da! activities and facilities available for inmates in jail. .he routine started at /.%% AM. 'rea#fast was served b! &.%% AM and under trials who has to appear in court will leave afterwards. :oman prisoners are made to do comparativel! moderate wor# of removing dirt and hus# from grains and cleaning around the premises.

Bn our wa! to e6it0 we were showed the high securit! prison which wards convicts of sensitive cases li#e the Naroda "ati!a0 5a#e encounter case0 Ahmadabad serial blasts and the (- prisoners who made a failed escape attempt in late September0 )%(9 b! digging an underground tunnel of (7 feet.

Edu ation of the inmates :!

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.here is an 2GNB 1entre in the Gandhi =ard along with >r 'aou Stud! 1entre where the inmates can underta#e an! course that the! are willing to. "resentl!0 there are around 9%% students who are pursuing ()th standard equivalent courses and () of them are even pursuing M'A from inside the ,ail premises. Annamalai niversit! also offers spiritual courses for the inmates.

Subsequentl!0 at a later point we were also ta#en to the librar!0 which was well equipped with a lot of boo#s in Gujarati and Dnglish language. .he person in charge also informed us that the inmates are allowed to order for whatever boo#s the! want b! placing an order to the librar! which then gets the same from outside. .he Librar! also had a des#top computer which the inmates were allowed to use0 but without an! internet connection. 5or the vocational training0 we first saw the 5urniture =ard0 wherein the inmates build all t!pes of furniture and get paid. A s#illed inmate is paid $s. 93G da!0 a half+s#illed inmate is paid $s. 9%Gda!0 and a non+s#illed wor#er is paid $s. )3Gda! for the wor# he does in the jail.. .he inmates have been also trained to use all the machines and tools so that the! can function easil!. .he! even have a provision for sale of furniture made b! them to the general public. So as to ensure that the inmates do not ta#e awa! an! of the tools with them to their cells0 the! are all stripped and chec#ed at the end of the da! before the! step out of this =ard. Bnl! the convicted prisoners are allowed to ta#e on these tas#s and not the ones who are under+trial. Dven0 persons who are part of an! high profile case li#e gang rapes0 terrorists0 etc. which has received a lot of media attention are not allowed into these s#illed labour departments. :e were also told that this furniture is either used in the jail itself or it is sold for usage to government departments b! wa! of auction.

Apart from this0 there is also a .ailoring Section0 where there are several sewing machines and most of the police uniforms are stitched here. Dven inmates can give measurements and get their clothes stitched. .he Hitchen and the 'a#er! Store is another part where a lot of the inmates are engaged in their wor#. .he time when we paid them a visit0 the! were bus! ma#ing rotis for dinner in machines0 which the! themselves have built. 2t made the whole tas# a lot easier and faster and the! wor#ed in great coordination. .he ba#er! ma#es several #inds of biscuits0 breads and snac# items which are then sold at a shop outside and also sold to the inmates in e6change of their coupons. .he! showed us a list of items on the menu along with their cost and the variet! of items available there. .he! also deliver these items on the basis of an! order that the! receive from the general public. :e were also informed that0 on the basis of wor# performance0 the jail authorities also give the award of E'est Dmplo!eeF to the inmate who performs e6emplar! in his wor#. :e also saw a small room which was EGeneral :elfare $oomF wherein the inmates can go and see# redressal of their grievances. .he jail also has medical facilities for the inmates.
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.here is an area which is the hospital area wherein the doctors are available0 and if the health condition of the inmate is such that the doctor on dut! can4t handle then the inmate is ta#en to civil hospital.

.he visit was cordiall! facilitated b! the jail authorities as well as few inmates who showed us around and e6plained ever!thing in detail.

"on luding #emar$s :!

.he interaction with the officers and the inmates was e6tremel! fruitful as we got first+hand account of the procedures followed and the life inside the prison. .he functioning of a jail is often perceived quite negativel! and this visit helped us understand the true nature of the functioning of a jail and we were thoroughl! impressed with the cleanliness and amenities provided inside the jail to the inmates

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