The Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has taken serious suo motu cognisance of alarming findings in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Prison Statistics India–2024 report and registered a case in the matter.
The Commission has treated the increase in suicides, unnatural deaths, prison violence, mental health crisis, overcrowding and inadequate psychological support systems in Haryana prisons as a grave human rights concern.
A Bench comprising Justice Lalit Batra, Chairperson, Kuldip Jain, Member (Judicial), and Deep Bhatia, Member, passed a detailed order seeking explanations and reports from senior State authorities.
The Commission observed that prisoners and under trial inmates cannot be deprived of their constitutional rights to dignity, health protection and mental well-being guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution merely because they are incarcerated.
According to the report placed before the Commission, Haryana recorded 15 unnatural inmate deaths in 2024, all attributed to suicide. The NCRB report further disclosed that Haryana was the only State in the country to record firearm-related violent clashes inside prison premises.
The Commission noted concerns regarding mental stress, depression, withdrawal-related issues, violent clashes, overcrowding, and the lack of adequate counselling facilities in prisons.
In its order, the Commission observed that custodial institutions are constitutionally obligated to protect inmates from self-harm, mental trauma, violence, depression, and social isolation.
It further emphasised that custodial suicides can substantially be prevented through timely psychological intervention, regular counselling, psychiatric supervision, emotional rehabilitation, grievance redressal mechanisms, family support systems, and de-addiction treatment.
The Commission specifically referred to Rules 299 and 300 of the Haryana Prison Rules, 2022, which deal with suicide prevention and monitoring of inmates with suicidal tendencies.
Rule 299 mandates strict precautions to ensure that articles such as knives and other tools used in workshops, barber shops, tailoring sections, kitchens and canteens capable of being used for suicide or violence are not left accessible within prison premises and further requires secure handling of tools and poisonous substances.
Rule 300 provides that prisoners exhibiting suicidal tendencies must be kept under careful watch, should not be left alone, and must be referred to counsellors for psychological support and emotional rehabilitation.
The Commission also recalled that during previous inspections of Haryana jails, particularly District Jail Kurukshetra, female inmates had disclosed that psychologists and social counsellors visited only once a month.
At that stage, the Commission had stressed the need for weekly visits by psychologists and psychiatrists. Necessary directions had also been issued to the Civil Surgeon, Kurukshetra, and prison administration to strengthen counselling mechanism and involve psychology students in inmate rehabilitation programmes.
The Commission observed that the latest NCRB statistics indicate that stronger, structured, and sustained intervention is still required in prison mental healthcare and emotional rehabilitation.
It further noted that the findings prima facie indicate possible violations of internationally recognised human rights principles, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), which mandate humane treatment and adequate healthcare facilities for prisoners.
Accordingly, the Bench headed by Justice Lalit Batra has called for detailed reports from the Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Jails, Criminal Investigation and Administration of Justice Departments on state-level policy measures adopted for prevention of custodial suicides, prison violence, and mental health crisis in prisons.
The Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Chandigarh, and the Director General Health Services, Haryana, have also been asked to report on jail-wise availability of psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, medical officers and mental health professionals in prisons across Haryana.
The Director General of Prisons, Haryana, has been asked to report on jail-wise details of unnatural deaths, suicides, attempted suicides, violent incidents, inmate clashes and firearm-related incidents during the last three years, along with the present occupancy position of prisons in Haryana vis-à-vis sanctioned capacity.
