AIR 1981 SUPREME COURT 625 ::1981 CriAppR(SC) 41 ::(1981) Mad LJ(Cri) 401 ::1981 SCC(Cri) 191 ::1981 (1) SCC 503 ::1981 (2) SCJ 97 ::(1981) SC Cr R 253

Supreme Court Of India

Hon'ble Judge(s): V. R. Krishna Iyer, R. S. Pathak , JJ

(A) Constitution of India , Art.2, Art.1, Art.19, Art.14— Human dignity - Not to be ignored even in prisons - Solitary confinement and putting fetters - To be resorted only in rarest of rare cases for security reasons - S.46 of Prisons Act and Rr. 1 (f), 46 and 79 of Rajasthan Prisons Rules - Interpretation of - Must be in consonance of Art. 21. Flimsy grounds like "loitering in the prison" "behaving insolently and in an uncivilised manner", "tearing off his history ticket" cannot be the foundation for the to rturesome treatment of solitary confinement and cross-bar fetters. Keeping prisoners in separate solitary rooms for long periods from 8 months to 11 months-spells long enough to be regarded as barbarous and would amount to breach of fundamental law laid down by the Supreme Court in Sunil Batra's case.(AIR 1978 SC 1675).Solitary confinement disguised as " keeping in separate cell" and imposition of fetters are not to be resorted to save in the rarest of rare cases and with strict adherence to the procedural safeguards contained in the decisions of the Supreme Court relating to the punishment of prisoners.(Para 7 8) Section 46 of the Prisons Act and Rr. 79 (1) (f) and 46 of Part VI of the Rajasthan Prisons Rules (1951) cannot be read in the absolutist expansionism. That would virtually mean that prisoner....