 bill no 54 of  2016 the prisons (amendment) bill, 2016by shri mullappally ramachandran, mpa billfurther to amend the prisons act, 1894be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—1  (1) this act may be called as the prisons (amendment) act, 2016short title and commencement5(2) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may by notification in the official gazette, appoint9 of 18942 in the prisons act, 1894, (hereinafter referred to as the principal act), in section 3,—amendment of section 3(i) after clause (8), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—"(8a) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the stategovernment under this act"10(ii) after clause (9) the following clauses shall be added at the end, namely:—"(10) "rigorous imprisonment" means imprisonment combined with manualhard work for not less than eleven hours in a day in such manner as may be prescribed;5(11) "simple imprisonment" means imprisonment with normal or routine work for not more than seven hours in a day in such manner as may be prescribed"amendment of section 93 section 9 of the principal act shall be re-numbered as sub-section (1), and after sub-section (1) as so re-numbered, the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:—10"(2) no officer or other employee of a prison shall provide or make available prohibited articles relating to means of communication like mobile phones, wireless, i-phones, laptops or other modern digital means of communication to any prisoner" 4 in chapter iv of the principal act, after section 26, the following section shall be inserted, namely:—insertion of new section 26a"26a (1) in case of a pregnant prisoner, her diet and work allocation shall be determined as per medical advice15special provisions with respect to pregnant prisoners(2) a pregnant prisoner shall be entitled to grant of conditional parole for thirty days from the expected date of delivery or thirty days from the date of delivery if the delivery takes place while she is in prison"amendment of section 295 in section 29 of the principal act, the following proviso shall be added at the end, namely:—20"provided that the jailor shall ensure that the cell used for solitary confinement is maintained with basic hygiene, light and air"amendment of section 396 in chapter viii of the principal act, after section 39, the following section shall be inserted, namely:—maintenance of hygiene25"39a the jail authorities shall be responsible to ensure basic hygiene in the jail premises and precincts of a prison by putting the prisoners on the job of maintaining hygiene and in the absence or unavailability of prisoners, by appointing temporary workers in such manner as may be prescribed"amendment of section 417 in chapter ix of the principal act, after section 41, the following section shall be inserted, namely:—30''41a no visitor shall take inside or be permitted to take inside a prison any prohibited article relating to means of communication like mobile phones, wireless, i-phones, laptops or other modern digital means of communication with a view to provide or make available such article to any prisoner''358 in chapter xii of the principal act, after section 58, the following sections shall be inserted namely:—amendment of chapter xiiestablishment of separate prisons"58a the state governments shall establish separate prisons to keep habitual andhardcore offenders separately from the first time offenders and the offenders convicted for lesser crimes40review and inspection of prisons58b the superintendent or other officer of prison shall inspect and review periodicallyon a regular basis the condition of prison and submit a report in this regard to state government in such form and manner as may be prescribed58c the superintendent shall take all necessary steps to ensure that prisoners donot indulge in mental or physical conflict either individually or in groupsmeasures to prevent mental and physical conflict58d (1) the officer of a prison shall ensure that prisoners of cybercrimes, treason or anti-national activities do not have access to any electronic equipment or digital means of communication(2) the prisoners referred to in sub-section (1) shall not be entitled to the facilities referred to in sections 58e and 58f5prisoners not to have access to electronic equipments or digital means of communication skill training in prisons58e the state government shall provide skill training including computer classes, tailoring, carpentry, cooking, gardening, and language classes, in such manner as may be prescribed, to the prisonersworkshops and seminars1058f (1) the officers of a prison shall conduct workshops and seminars on such subjects as would be helpful for rehabilitation of and for educating the prisoners(2) the officers of a prison shall ensure active participation of prisoners in attending such workshops and seminars58g for the purposes of sections 58e and 58f, the state government shall appoint adequate number of professionals, educators and counsellors in such manner as may be prescribed"15appointment of professionals, educators or counsellors statement of objects and reasonsthe provisions of the prisons act, 1894, are almost a century old, which are not only obsolete but also not in tune with the principles of the constitution or the policies of the government there is a need to provide rules and regulations for the management of the prisons in the present contextit is also essential to reform the environment of the prisons and to ensure humanitarian consideration of prisoners so as to ensure that prisons do not create hardened criminals it is also essential to create an atmosphere to rehabilitate and socialize prisoners to enable them to re-enter the societythe bill seeks to achieve the above objectives by amending the prisons act, 1894 with a view to:—(a) prohibit making available means of communication to prisoners; (b) make special provisions with respect to pregnant prisoners; (c) ensure maintenance of hygiene in prison and surrounding areas; (d) establish separate prisons for different types of offenders; (e) ensure review and inspection of prisons at regular intervals; (f) prescribe measures to prevent mental and physical injuries among theprisoners;(g) provide skill training to inmates of prisons; (h) conduct workshops and seminars for prisoners; and (i) appoint professionals, educators and counsellors for the rehabilitation andwelfare of prisonersnew delhi;mullappally  ramachandranfebruary 11, 2016 financial memorandumclause 6 of the bill provides for the appointment of temporary workers for maintenance of hygiene in the jail premises and its precincts clause 8 provides for establishment of separate prisons for separate types of offenders it also provides for providing skill training and appointment of professionals, educators or counsellors for conducting workshop or seminars in prisons the expenditure relating to states shall be borne out of the consolidated fund of state governments concerned however, the expenditure relating to union territories shall be incurred from the consolidated fund of india the bill, if enacted, is likely to  involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india a recurring expenditure of about rupees two hundred and twenty crore is likely to be involveda non-recurring expenditure of about rupees one hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 6 of  the bill provides for the appointment, in such manner, as may be prescribed by rules made under this act, of temporary workers for maintenance of hygiene in the jail premises and its precincts by jail authorities clause 8 provides for providing skill training and appointment of professionals, educators or counselors  for conducting workshop or seminars in prisons by the state government in such manner, as may be prescribed by rules made under this act as the rules will relate to matters of details only, the delegation of legislative power is of normal character———— a billfurther to amend the prisons act, 1894————(shri mullappally ramachandran, mp)