Jails need old-age homes for those who can't be freed: Supreme Court
Observing that prisoners are also entitled to fundamental rights, including right to health, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that government must take care of old-age prisoners who are not entitled for remission and suggested that old-age home should be set up within the jail or set up open jail where they can be looked after by their family members.
NEW DELHI: Observing that prisoners are also entitled to fundamental rights, including right to health, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that government must take care of old-age prisoners who are not entitled for remission and suggested that old-age home should be set up within the jail or set up open jail where they can be looked after by their family members.
While hearing a plea of two prisoners who are 97 and 86 years old seeking remission of their sentence of life imprisonment, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that something had to be done to care for old prisoners who could not look after themselves because of age. In this case one of them is too weak to move on his own and has to be carried on a stretcher.
The prisoners were convicted for indulging in terrorist activities in Rajasthan and they spent 29 and 23 years in jail respectively. As the bench asked additional solicitor general Vikramjit Banerjee, appearing for Rajasthan, to consider their plea for remission, the law officer said that it was not possible to grant remission under the prevailing law and they were involved in terrorist activities and they were not eligible for relief.
"Their lives are also governed by Article 21 of the Constitution... Old-age homes can be created within the prison to take care of such prisoners. Some solution has to be found for them. They are the people who require care," the bench said.
While hearing a plea of two prisoners who are 97 and 86 years old seeking remission of their sentence of life imprisonment, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that something had to be done to care for old prisoners who could not look after themselves because of age. In this case one of them is too weak to move on his own and has to be carried on a stretcher.
The prisoners were convicted for indulging in terrorist activities in Rajasthan and they spent 29 and 23 years in jail respectively. As the bench asked additional solicitor general Vikramjit Banerjee, appearing for Rajasthan, to consider their plea for remission, the law officer said that it was not possible to grant remission under the prevailing law and they were involved in terrorist activities and they were not eligible for relief.
"Their lives are also governed by Article 21 of the Constitution... Old-age homes can be created within the prison to take care of such prisoners. Some solution has to be found for them. They are the people who require care," the bench said.
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