INTRODUCTION Prison administration is an important element of the criminal justice system in India.
Even
though prison reforms is a State subject as per the Constitution of India, considering its importance, the
Government of India has over the years been providing the State Governments all requisite support and
assistance to modernise prisons across the country and facilitate the task of rehabilitation and reformation of
prisoners. The Model Prison Manual is a step in this direction and strives to serve as a benchmark that all
States should emulate and seek guidance from.
The necessity of formulating a model prison manual such as this was stressed upon by the Supreme Court in
1996 in Ramamurthy v. State of Karnataka. 1 In Ramamurthy, highlighting the need for uniformity in laws
relating to prisons, the Supreme Court had directed the formulation of a new All India Jail Manual.
Prior to this, the All India Committee on Jail Reforms (1980-83) had also recognised the need for a
consolidated law on prisons. With this objective in mind, a Model Prison Manual was prepared in 2003 by
evolving national consensus on relevant issues relating to prison reforms in India.
The Model Prison Manual prepared in 2003 has, over the years, sought to be a guide for States to draw from
and adopt best practices. With passage of time and after having gained a better understanding of ground
realities, a need was felt to revise and update the Manual to reflect developments of the past decade or so.
The Supreme Court has also issued directions in respect of prison reforms which deserve recognition in the
Manual. To this end, MHA had constituted an expert committee on 11.12.2014 to revamp and update the
Model Prison Manual prepared in 2003.
The Committee was constituted in a manner so as to ensure representation from across States and to gain a
holistic perspective of the issues faced in prison administration Thereafter the committee was reconstituted
including the members from National Legal Service Authority (NALSA), National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) and civil society groups on 27.8.2015 on the directives of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Suo
Moto Writ Petition (Civil) No. 406/2013 titled Re: Inhuman Conditions prevailing in 1382 prisons in India.
The expert committee has extensively reviewed the existing model prison manual and come up with a new
draft of the Model Prison Manual. I wish to thank all the committee members and support staff for their
invaluable contributions towards the task of preparing the Model Prison Manual 2016.
The Model Prison Manual 2016 represents best practices from across the country and strives to reflect the
understanding behind constitutional provisions, Supreme Court directions on prison administration and
international instruments. The key features of the new Manual include emphasis on prison computerization,
special provisions for women prisoners, focus 1 AIR 1997 SC 1739 4 on after care services, prison
inspections, rights of prisoners sentenced to death, repatriation of prisoners from abroad, enhanced focus on
prison correctional staff to name a few. It is hoped that the manual is adopted by States so as to ensure
uniformity in basic principles governing prisons, and as a useful tool for prison administration in India.
OPEN INSTITUTIONS
23.01 All Open and Semi-open institutions are intended to put into practice the contemporary ideology of
reformation, correction and rehabilitation of convicted prisoners so that they may lead a self-disciplined and
cultured life after their release. These institutions provide the prisoners opportunities of employment and
living a life in the open. This restores dignity of the individual and develops in him/her self-reliance, self-
confidence and social responsibility, which are necessary for his/her rehabilitation in the society.
23.02 State Governments should frame detailed rules regarding the administration of Open Work Camps,
Semi-open Training Institutions, Open Training Institutions and Open Colonies. The contents of this chapter
are of a general nature and are only illustrative. The details regarding the administration of Open Institutions
should be fixed by each State in accordance with the local conditions.
1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
23.03 The below mentioned categories of prisoners shall not be eligible for transfer to any of the open
institutions:
(a) Offenders classified as habitual, provided they have not earned a higher grade in the proposed progressive
system.
(b) Prisoners who are considered dangerous or are involved in serious prison violence like assault, outbreak,
riot, mutiny or escape, or who have been found instigating serious violation of prison discipline.
(c) Prisoners convicted for offences such as dacoity, terrorist crimes, kidnapping, and smuggling including
those convicted under NDPS Act, foreigners, escape risks and members of organised criminal gangs.
(d) Prisoners committed for failure to give security for maintaining peace or good behaviour.
(e) Prisoners suffering from mental illness.
(f) Prisoners convicted of offences against any law relating to matters to which the executive power of the
Union Government extends, unless approved by the Union Government.
(g) Convicts in POCSO case.
(h) Prisoners whose transfer is likely to have repercussions elsewhere in the country
(i) Facing trial in other cases
(j) Prisoners who have been transferred from an Open Prison to a Closed Prison. 218 Selection/ Classification
Committee
23.03.1 For the purpose of selecting prisoners for confinement in any Open Prison, there shall be a Selection/
Classification Committee consisting of the following members-
(a) The Deputy Inspector General of Prisons or any other officer nominated by the head of the Prisons
department shall be the Chairman.
(b) The Superintendent of the Prisoners from which the Prisons are to be selected for confinement in an Open
Prison.
(c) Medical Officer of the concerned Prison
(d) Probation/ Welfare/ Rehabilitation officer of the concerned Prison or other officer in-charge of welfare
work.
The Selection/ Classification Committee shall, subject to the provisions of these rules, prepare a list of
prisoners and shall submit the same to the Head of the Prisons for his Orders. 23.03.2 The Selection
Committee should thoroughly screen the case of each casual prisoner on the following points before
recommending them for transfer to an open institution:
(a) Physical fitness and mental health required for living in a semi-open or open institution.
(b) Behaviour and conduct in the prison.
(c) Number of paroles availed and his conduct during that period
(d) Progress in work vocational training and education.
(e) Group adjustability.
(f) Character and self-discipline.
(g) Verification of his address / relatives
(h) Extent of institutional impact (Whether the inmate has reached peak points of training and treatment).
(i) Whether the inmate can be further helped in the institution. Whether he will benefit by training and
treatment in Semi-open or Open Institutions.
(j) Whether the inmate is getting institutionalised.
(k) Sense of responsibility. Note:
(i) If there is no Semi-open Training Institution or Semi- open Institution in the State, prisoners may be
transferred directly to Open Institutions as per directions laid down by the State Government.
The State Government may also lay down directions for direct admission to other institutions.
(ii) Only such prisoners, whose behaviour and progress in the institution has been good, and who are fit for a
regime based on trust, responsibility and self-discipline, should be considered for transfer to a semi-open or
Open 219 Institution
. Prisoners who are dangerous to society, who are members of professional and organised criminal gangs,
who are habitual offenders, or who are suffering from mental unsoundness or physical diseases, and those
who are an escape or discipline risks, should not be transferred to Semi-open or Open Institutions. 2. Transfer
23.04 Transfer to Semi-open/Open Institutions, Work Camps, Colonies will be governed by the following
guidelines: (i) Transfer to Semi-open Institutions
23.05 On completion of two years of actual imprisonment in case of a life convict, and six months or one-
fourth of sentence as convict, whichever is more but subject to not more than two years in case of a terminal
convict the Selection/ Classification Committee shall examine in detail, the case of every convict on the
points mentioned in note (ii) to Para 23.03.2 above.
23.06 If the Selection/ Classification Committee is of the opinion that the inmate is fit for being transferred to
a semi-open institution, a report in the prescribed form should be submitted to the Inspector General. On
receipt of sanction from the Inspector General, the inmate should be oriented to his new responsibilities in a
semi-open institution.
23.07 On admission at a Semi-open Institution, the inmate should be kept in the reception yard for at least six
months. During this period, he should be further acquainted with the requirements of living standards,
standards of behaviour under Semi-open conditions, basic education and work skills.
23.08 A programme suitable for the inmate’s training should be organised at the Semiopen Institution. He
should be given necessary facilities to further improve his educational and cultural level and vocational skills.
Suitable work should be given to him so that he may further improve his work habits and skills. (ii) Transfer to
an Open Training Institution/Open Work Camp
23.09 On completion of five years of imprisonment, excluding remission, in the case of a life convict, and one
year or one-fourth of the sentence as a convict excluding remission, whichever is more but not more than two
years in case of a terminal convict, the Selection/ Classification Committee should study the inmate’s case
for his eligibility for an open institution.
If the Selection/ Classification Committee is convinced that the inmate is fit for treatment in an open
institution, a report in the prescribed form should be sent to the Inspector General for his transfer.
On receipt of sanction of the Inspector General, the inmate should be oriented for his life in the open
institution. He should be made to understand that any failure in maintaining satisfactory behaviour at the
open institution would entail his re-transfer to the Semi-open or Closed Institution.
23.10 On admission to the Open Institution, the inmate should be kept in the reception yard of the Institution
for at least three months. During this period he should be 220 further educated to the requirements of living
under open conditions and a regime based on self-discipline.
23.11 A Programme suitable for the inmate’s needs should be organised at the open institution. He should be
given necessary facilities to further improve his educational and cultural levels and vocational skills. Suitable
work should be given to him so that he further may improve his work habits and skills. (iii) Transfer to Open
Colony
23.12 On completion of seven years of imprisonment in case of a life convict, or in the case of a convict
sentenced to seven years of imprisonment or more after the convict having undergone half of the sentence,
excluding remission as a convict, the Selection/ Classification Committee shall examine the inmate’s case for
being transferred to an Open Colony. If there is no Semi-open or Open Institution in the State, a prisoner may
be transferred directly to an Open Colony after completion of 10 years stay in a closed Institution with
remission in case of a life convict, or on completion of three-fourth of the sentence in the case of other
convicts.
If the Selection/ Classification Committee is satisfied that the inmate is fit for a transfer to an Open Colony, a
report in the prescribed form, along with the inmate’s case file, should be forwarded to the Inspector General.
On receipt of sanction from the Inspector General of Prisons the inmate should be transferred to an Open
Colony. 23.13 Inmates should initially be treated in Semi-open Institutions and then in Open Institutions.
Transfer to an Open Colony should be made only after ensuring that the inmate has satisfactorily responded
to the treatment in Semi-open and Open Institutions. These transfers should be done on a highly selective
basis. Care should be taken to see that selection for treatment in an Open Colony does not become reutilised
and mechanical.
23.14 Before being transferred to an Open Work Camp/Semi-open or Open Institutions/Open Colony, the
inmate should be informed about the requirements and responsibilities of living in the new institution. On
admission at these institutions, the inmate should be kept in the reception yard under observation. During
this period he should be further oriented to institutional standards of behaviour and other requirements of
institutional life.
23.15 The conditions which an inmate shall have to observe at these places should be laid down. Before
being transferred to these institutions the inmate will be required to sign a bond prescribed by the Inspector
General.
23.16 Minimum standards, as prescribed for the Closed Institutions, regarding accommodation, equipment,
sanitation, hygiene, medical services, diet and welfare services, shall be maintained at each Semi-open
Training Institution, Open Training Institution, Open Work Camp and Open Colony. These institutions should
have good communication and transport facilities. Emergency equipment shall be provided in accordance
with the requirements of each institution. 221
23.17 Security arrangements in these institutions should be established in a way that the possibility of escape
gets minimised and a sense of security prevails in the neighbouring community.
23.18 The programmes at these institutions should be very carefully planned so that the inmates remain
occupied in useful activities. Special attention should be devoted to: (i) Care and welfare of inmates (ii)
Individual attention to inmates’ problems (iii) Education, work, vocational training and cultural activities (iv)
Self-discipline and character training (v) Release planning, pre-release preparation, and after-care.
23.19 Wages should be paid as prescribed by the State Government. The wages at Semi-open institutions,
Open Training Institutions, Open Work Camps and Open Colonies may be higher than those at the Closed
Institutions. 23.20 Inmates should be encouraged to maintain their family contacts. The Superintendent may
use his discretion in granting the facility of additional letters and interviews according to the merits of each
case.
23.21 While an inmate is living in open conditions in a Semi-Open or Open Training Institution or Open Work
Camp, he may be allowed to stay with his family members for one week every six months. Arrangements for
such stay may be made in a family hutment in a suitable place outside the Semi-open or Open Training
Institution. These huts may be so located that the inmate and his family members get the required privacy
while at the same time the requirements of discipline and security are also fulfilled. The period of stay in the
family hutments should be treated as leave period and should count towards the sentence. Note: Such a
periodical stay with his family will be helpful in keeping the inmate close to his family group. This concession
should, however, be granted on a selective basis and after a thorough study of each inmate’s case. Initially
this concession should be tried on an experimental basis. In due course, and after having gained enough
experience, it may be further developed to suit local conditions in each State. The State Government should
issue detailed instructions in the respect.
23.22 Inmates working in open conditions in Semi-open Prisons will get concessions/remissions as
permissible in Open Work Camps.
23.23 The Superintendent should examine the case of every inmate at least once in three months. 3.
Personnel
23.24 Only personnel who have the capacity for handling inmates under semi-open or open conditions and
have the requisite calibre and leadership for imparting training and treatment in these conditions should be
posted at these institutions. 222
23.25 Unless they volunteer to do so, personnel should not be required to remain at these institutions for
more than two years at a time. The staff posted at these institutions may be given an additional allowance of
about 25% of the basic salary to be as fixed by the government. 4. Open Work Camps/Open Training
Institutions
23.26 Open Work Camps should be started in places where nation building activities, like digging canals,
water channels, construction of dams, roads, government buildings and prison buildings, projects of land
reclamation, land development and bringing uncultivated land under cultivation, soil conservation and
forestation, can be organised. Open Training Institutions should be situated in place where land and
vocational training facilities are available for inmates’ training and after that for work either in collaboration of
some Industry/Organisation/Department or by Prison Department. .
23.27 Prisoners who do not respond properly to the standard of discipline in these camps should be
transferred back to Closed Institutions. 5. Semi-open Training Institutions
23.28 Prisoners should mainly be employed in suitable industries, agriculture and allied work. Emphasis
shall be laid on programmes like literacy project, social education, cultural and recreational activities;
23.29 Inmates will be gradually relaxed from the condition of closed prison in the beginning to that of an Open
Institution in the final stage. 6. Open Colonies
23.30 In open colonies, emphasis should be on work, literacy projects, social education, training in
agriculture and allied fields and cultural activities.
Schools 1 unit
Criminologists often draw from multiple schools of thought to develop a comprehensive understanding of
crime and criminal behaviour. Over time, different scholars and researchers have developed various schools
of criminology, each with its unique theories and perspectives on the causes and explanations of crime.
Each school of criminology tries to explain the causation of crime and criminal behavior in its own manner
and suggests punishment and preventive measures for the same. It must also be stated that each of the
school represents the social attitude of the people towards crime and criminal during the given time period.
The schools of criminology can be divided as:
Pre- Classical School of Criminology
The Classical School
The Neo – Classical School of Criminology
The Positive School
Clinical School of Criminology
Sociological School of Criminology.
1)*Pre-classical School of Criminology*
This school of Criminology considered crime and criminals as evidence of the fact that an individual was
possessed of devil or demon and the only cure for which was testimony of effectiveness of the spirit.
Worships, sacrifices, and ordeals by water and fire were usually prescribed to specify the spirit and relieve the
victim from ‘evil influence’. Trial by battle was a common mode of deciding the fate of the criminal. The right of
the society to punish a criminal, however, was well recognized. The offender was regarded as an innately
depraved person who could be cured by torture and pain.
Assumptions about Human Behaviour:
Crime was considered a result of supernatural or religious factors.
Human behaviour was believed to be influenced by evil spirits, demons, or divine will.
View on Punishment:
Punishment was harsh, arbitrary, and often included torture or death.
The aim was deterrence through fear and to please divine entities.
There was no consideration of intent or rationality
2. Classical School
Beccaria, during the middle eighteenth century expounded his naturalistic theory of criminality by rejecting
the omnipotence of evil spirit. He laid greater emphasis on mental phenomenon of individual and attributed
crime to “free will’. He was highly influenced by the utilitarian philosophy of his time which placed a great
reliance on hedonism, namely, the “pain and pleasure theory”. This doctrine implied the notion of causation
in terms of one’s free choice to commit crime by rational man seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. The
greatest achievement of this school lies in the fact that it suggested a substantial criminal policy which was
easy to administer without resort to the imposition of arbitrary punishment.
Assumptions about Human Behaviour:
Human beings are rational and have free will.
Individuals commit crimes after a cost–benefit analysis (pleasure vs. pain).
View on Punishment:
Punishment should be certain, swift, and proportionate to the crime.
The main objective is deterrence, not retribution.
3. Neo-Classical School
Neo-classists approached the study of criminology on scientific lines by recognizing that certain extenuating
situations or mental disorders deprive a person of his normal capacity to control his conduct. Thus, they
justified mitigation of equal punishment in cases of certain psychopathic offenders.
Neo-classists were the first to bring out a distinction between the first-time offenders and recidivist.
Assumption about human behaviour
The advocates of this school started with the assumption that man acting on reason and intelligence is self-
determining person and therefore, is responsible for his conduct. But those lacking normal intelligence or
having some mental depravities are irresponsible to their conduct and therefore, should be treated differently
from the responsible offenders.
View on Punishment:
Consideration of mitigating factors (juveniles, mentally ill).
Retains deterrence but adds the element of justice and fairness
4)The Positive School
By the nineteenth century certain French doctors had successfully established that it was neither ‘free will’ of
the offender nor his innate depravity which actuated him to commit crime, but the real cause of criminality lay
in anthropological features of the criminals. Some phrenologist tried to demonstrate the organic functioning
of brain and established the relationship between criminality and the structure and functioning of the brain.
Assumptions about Human Behaviour:
Criminals are products of heredity, environment, or mental abnormalities.
Crime is a symptom of pathology rather than moral failure.
View on Punishment:
Focus shifts from punishment to treatment, reformation, and rehabilitation.
Emphasis on scientific study of criminals.
Key thinkers: Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri, Raffaele Garofalo.
5) Clinical School
There was a greater emphasis on the emotional aspect of human nature with development in the field
of psychology.
Assumptions about Human Behaviour:
Crime is an outcome of individual psychological conflicts or personality disorders.
Behavioural issues and mental illnesses drive criminal acts.
View on Punishment:
Treatment-oriented approach — therapy, counselling, or psychiatric care.
Each criminal is studied individually (case study method)
6. Sociological School
This school seeks to locate causation of crime in social environment. Sociologists successfully established
that factors such as mobility, culture, religion, economy, political ideologies, density of population,
employment situation, etc., have a direct bearing on the incidence of crime in a given society. Placing reliance
on these multiple causes, Sutherland sought to explain various processes through which a person become
criminal.
Assumption about human behaviour
In his theory of the Differential Association, he suggested that human personality and culture are directly
related and a person becomes a criminal mostly by the chain if events in which he associates.
View on Punishment:
Focus on social reform and prevention.
Remedies include improving education, employment, and community structures.
Emphasis on addressing root causes rather than merely punishing offenders.
Conclusion
The evolution of criminological thought shows a shift from retributive and supernatural explanations (Pre-
Classical) to rational choice (Classical), and finally towards scientific and sociological understanding
(Positivist, Clinical, and Sociological schools).
Modern criminology integrates these perspectives—acknowledging both individual accountability and the
influence of biological, psychological, and social factors in shaping criminal behaviour.