Supreme Court flags lack of accessibility, basic care for prisoners with disabilities; calls for guidelines

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that denial of accessibility and essential care to persons with disabilities incarcerated in prisons amounts to violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life and liberty) of the Constitution [L Muruganantham vs. State of Tamil Nadu].

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that most facilities in prisons are inaccessible for persons with disability.

"Social and structural barriers they face in society are only magnified within the prison environment. Most prison facilities are structurally inaccessible to individuals with mobility, sensory, or cognitive impairments,” the Court said.

It noted that in the absence of trained caregivers or custodial policies, prisoners are often denied help with essential daily activities such as bathing, dressing and eating. This neglect results in indignity, mental distress and, at times, serious physical harm, the Court said.

“These inaccessibility and denial of basic care are not mere administrative lapses; they amount to violations of fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” the Court held.

In light of the above, the Court proceeded to issue a slew of directions to the State and police authorities including a direction to lay down guidelines for police officers on how they should handle physically disabled persons.

The judgment was rendered in an appeal filed one L Muruganantham, a physically disabled advocate, who had alleged custodial abuse and inadequate medical care while incarcerated in a prison in Tamil Nadu.

The bench recorded that institutional routines and infrastructure are not designed to accommodate diverse needs, making it difficult – or at times impossible – for such prisoners to use toilets, dining areas, libraries, or health clinics.

It further said that the situation breaches Sections 6, 25 and 38 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The Court also referred to Article 15 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which prohibits cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of disabled persons in detention.

“Lawful incarceration does not suspend the right to human dignity. The punishment lies only in the restriction of liberty – not in the denial of humane treatment or reasonable accommodations,” the Bench made it clear.

In light of the above, the Court proceeded to issue the following directions to the State for better treatment of disabled prisoners:

- The Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu, Home Department, shall ensure that district wise sensitisation programmes are conducted for police officers including constables regarding the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

- Such programmes shall be so designed that they throw enough light on the provisions of the enactment and the intendment of the legislation;

- Guidelines should also be issued to police officers as to how they should handle such physically disabled persons;

- Similar guidelines are also to be issued to government doctors who come across such physically disabled persons who run into conflict with law and are brought before them for medical examination;

- The Director General of Police shall take steps to have a periodical inspection of the CCTV cameras in all police stations and ensure their functioning;

- A district level officer shall be made in charge of ensuring the functioning of CCTV cameras in certain number of police stations in the district;

- Such officers will be responsible for maintenance of the cameras and if there is a failure on their part, they should be held accountable.

The Court clarified that these directions are in addition to those already issued by the Madras High Court in another case in People’s Watch v. The Home Secretary.

The appellant appeared as party-in-person.

Advocate S Rajashekaran appeared for the State of Tamil Nadu.

[Read Judgment]