More than opening a legal aid clinic : Journey to jail administration
- Sangai Express Editorial :: January 29, 2014 -

It is more than opening a legal aid clinic at Sajiwa Jail.

Yes it is this but it is also something much more.

It is a strong statement that there is something called jail administration, where prisons are viewed and understood beyond the context of a concrete structure where hard core criminals, under trial prisoners and those in judicial custody are housed.

It is along this line that the opening of a legal aid clinic at Sajiwa Jail by the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court LK Mohapatra on January 24 should be seen and understood.

A welcome departure from the earlier days, when Sajiwa Jail had gained notoriety as a safe haven for criminals, a place from where hard core criminals operate directing their henchmen from within the jail through the use of mobile phones, a place where the police felt it necessary to raid on more than one occasion.

It was not for nothing that The Sangai Express had on more than one occasion called or rather demanded that Sajiwa Jail be sanitised and the nexus between jail administrators and some of the foxy inmates should be broken and snapped.

Not everything may be in place as yet, but Sajiwa Jail certainly seems to have started its trek towards what a jail should be.

From conducting Yoga classes, imparting Art of Living courses, opening a gym as well as the efforts being made to open a library inside the jail are all steps that fall in line with the understanding of jail administration.

We are not administrators, least of all jail administrators, but the need to give a cutting edge definition to the understanding of jail administration has long been felt at Sajiwa jail.

A legal aid clinic, which offers free counselling to the inmates with the help of volunteers will certainly go a long way in clearing the backlog of cases that are piling up across the country.

Manipur may just represent a tiny fraction of under trial prisoners languishing in jails, without ever getting the benefits of a just and speedy trial, and this is where the opening of the legal aid clinic at Sajiwa Jail gains significance in many ways.

Certainly it would not have been an easy job to start the process of reformation inside the jail and due credits must be given to the officials who are directly responsible for running the affairs of Sajiwa Jail.

As we understand it, Manipur still follows the Assam Jail Manual and maybe the next significant step would be to seriously study this manual and see if amendments may be made or new clauses may be inserted in the Assam Jail Manual to suit the local conditions.

For all we know what suits Assam may not exactly be conducive here. A serious thought may be given to this by the responsible people. This is not to say that everything is hunky dory at Sajiwa Jail.

It is not yet known what benchmark has been set to maintain the hygiene of the kitchen as well as the quality of food served there.

It is also open to question on what medical aid the inmates are entitled to. How about recreation ?

As far as the Assam Jail Manual goes, no sports items are supplied by the jail and it is left to the resources of the inmates to get their own sports kits.

The question is can’t the State Government earmark a certain amount of fund towards this end in its annual budget outlay ?

Moreover are there any provisions for the jail officials to undergo training in jail administration ?

Dealing with hard core criminals, under trial prisoners and others under judicial custody cannot be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination and this is where some sort of a formal training may come in handy.

A jail should not be seen merely as place to house criminals, but should be seen as a correctional home where the inmates, once they get out of prison can re-integrate themselves into society without much ado.

A punishment place as well as a correctional home, a jail should be.