Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Prison tag: On a viable means of decongesting prisons

Prison tag: On a viable means of decongesting prisons

Tracking devices may be used if they aid bail (जमानत), help free up jail space

The suggestion for the introduction of electronic tracking of prisoners granted parole (the temporary release of a prisoner for a special purpose/reason (such as a family death or wedding) on the promise of good behavior. It is granted at the prisoner’s request and can be denied. Parole is granted for short-term imprisonment and it is usually for a maximum of one month) or furlough (the temporary release of a prisoner without any reason after a stipulated number of years have been served. It is intended to break the monotony of imprisonment and is seen as a matter of right for prisoners. Furlough is granted for long-term imprisonment and it is usually for a maximum of 14 days) may merit (योग्य होना, हकदार होना) consideration (विचार, समीक्षा) as a viable (व्यवहार्य) means (साधन, तरीका, उपाय) of decongesting (भीड़ कम करना) prisons. The idea of having a pilot (trial, test, experimental, model, sample, tentative) programme to make undertrials (विचाराधीन) who pose (present, constitute, cause, produce, give rise to (a problem/danger)) low or moderate risk wear devices that will track and restrict their movements has been mooted (suggest, recommend, present, propose, put forward, submit (an idea or possibility)) in a research report of the Supreme Court of India’s Centre for Research and Planning (अनुसंधान एवं योजना केंद्र). This is not the first time the use of electronic tracking has been considered, though. The Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023 (It seeks to bring in the use of technology in prison management, make provisions for the grant of parole, furlough, and remission, and introduce special provisions for women and transgender inmates. It replaced the 130-year-old law (the Prisons Act of 1894) in an attempt to shift the focus of incarceration from retributive deterrence to reform and rehabilitation), contains a provision (प्रावधान) that says “prisoners may be granted prison leave on the condition of their willingness (इच्छा, तत्परता) to wear electronic tracking devices” so that their movement and activities may be monitored. It speaks of cancelling the leave in case of (in the event of; if something happens) any violation (उल्लंघन). The study points out that Odisha was the first State to propose the use of tamper-proof (relating to something (a device/product) that can not changed/damaged; impenetrable/impervious, resistant/repellent) electronic trackers on undertrials accused of non-heinous offences (अपराध, गलती) to reduce congestion in jails. Such a measure (उपाय, कदम) would extend the concept to grant of bail. However, it also points out correctly that there are no guidelines or minimum standards for when and how the technology can be deployed (तैनात करना, प्रयोग में लाना) without violating the prisoners’ rights. The use of technology for tracking the movement of those allowed to leave prison on some conditions does raise such concerns.

The Court, earlier this year, disapproved (अस्वीकार करना, विरोध करना) of imposing bail conditions that would infringe (contravene, violate, breach, break, flout, disobey, defy, fail to observe) their right to privacy (the right to privacy is a fundamental right and is an integral part of the right to life and liberty. It refers to a legal framework that provides individuals a legal right to protect their or their data’s privacy) of the accused (the suspect). The context in that case was a bail condition that the accused should pin (link, attach, join) his location on Google Maps and share it with the investigating officer. However, it ought not to mean that electronic tagging should be rejected out of hand (out of control, unmanageable, ungovernable, uncontrollable, impossible). A Parliamentary Standing Committee had approved of cost-effective (economical, moderate, reasonably priced) devices being used with the consent (approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, concurrence) of the accused, citing the possible gains of avoiding rights violation, reducing administrative costs and decongesting prisons. Rising occupancy (the act of using/living in a particular place) in prisons has been a matter of concern (something which causes worry) in the last few years. Official statistics put the number of prisoners in the country’s jails at 5,73,220 on December 31, 2022, amounting to 131.4% of the total capacity. Therefore, any move that will reduce the occupancy, including the use of tracking technology, ought to (must, should) be a welcome (pleasing, agreeable, favourable, promising, much needed) measure. Several jurisdictions (territory, region, area, domain (over which a court has an authority, power to hear a case & make legal decisions)) in the world deploy devices to track the movement of certain categories of offenders (criminal, culprit, wrongdoer, lawbreaker, perpetrator). It would be logical to use them to ensure that prisoners released recently do not approach their victims again or enter locations associated with their crimes. If the trackers were to be compact in terms of (regarding, concerning, with regard to, with reference to) size and visibility, it could also make the beneficiaries of bail shed (discard, dismiss, let go, get rid of, do away with, abandon, drop, throw out, cast aside) their reluctance (unwillingness, disinclination, hesitation) to wear them for fear of stigmatisation (a negative attitude or idea about a mental, physical, or social feature of a person or group of people that implies social disapproval. accusation, cursing, denouncement, discredit, dishonor, disparagement).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.viable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - व्यवहार्य
English Meaning - workable, feasible, practicable, possible, reasonable,

2.means (noun)

Hindi Meaning - साधन, तरीका, उपाय
English Meaning - way, method, manner, process, procedure, technique.

3.decongest (verb)

Hindi Meaning - भीड़ कम करना
English Meaning - reduce the congestion or ease crowding in an area.

4.bail (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जमानत
English Meaning - conditional, temporary release of an arrested/imprisoned person when a specified amount of security is deposited or pledged (as cash or property) to ensure his/her appearance in court when required.

5.merit (verb)

Hindi Meaning - योग्य होना, हकदार होना
English Meaning - justify, warrant, deserve, be worthy of, be qualified for.

6.consideration (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विचार, समीक्षा
English Meaning - thought, deliberation, pondering, review, analysis.

7.undertrial (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विचाराधीन
English Meaning - a person in custody (for court’s trial).

8.Centre for Research & Planning (CRP) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुसंधान एवं योजना केंद्र
English Meaning - established in 2015, it is the dedicated policy Centre of the Supreme Court. The Centre focuses on a number of transformational initiatives and programmes for judicial reforms to improve efficiency and sustainability of the justice delivery system, development of jurisprudence, and to improve the quality of data collection using modern technology.

9.provision (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रावधान
English Meaning - clause, condition, stipulation, requirement, term.

10.willingness (noun)

Hindi Meaning - इच्छा, तत्परता
English Meaning - readiness, inclination, keenness, eagerness, preparedness.

11.violation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उल्लंघन
English Meaning - breach, contravention, infringement, breaking, non-observance.

12.offence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अपराध, गलती
English Meaning - crime, illegal/unlawful act, wrongdoing.

13.measure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उपाय, कदम
English Meaning - course of action, proceeding, procedure, step.

14.deploy (verb)

Hindi Meaning - तैनात करना, प्रयोग में लाना
English Meaning - employ/bring into effective action; bring into service; have recourse to; use, utilize, employ, make use of, take advantage of.

15.disapprove (verb)

Hindi Meaning - अस्वीकार करना, विरोध करना
English Meaning - oppose, refuse, reject, object, dislike, dismiss, be against, express disagreement (with).

16.tag (noun)

English Meaning - label, badge, sticker, marker, identity.

17.parole (noun)

English Meaning - the temporary release of a prisoner for a special purpose/reason (such as a family death or wedding) on the promise of good behavior. It is granted at the prisoner’s request and can be denied. Parole is granted for short-term imprisonment and it is usually for a maximum of one month.

18.furlough (noun)

English Meaning - the temporary release of a prisoner without any reason after a stipulated number of years have been served. It is intended to break the monotony of imprisonment and is seen as a matter of right for prisoners. Furlough is granted for long-term imprisonment and it is usually for a maximum of 14 days.

19.pilot (adjective)

English Meaning - trial, test, experimental, model, sample, tentative.

20.pose (verb)

English Meaning - present, constitute, cause, produce, give rise to (a problem/danger).

21.moot (verb)

English Meaning - suggest, recommend, present, propose, put forward, submit (an idea or possibility).

22.Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023 (noun)

English Meaning - It seeks to bring in the use of technology in prison management, make provisions for the grant of parole, furlough, and remission, and introduce special provisions for women and transgender inmates. It replaced the 130-year-old law (the Prisons Act of 1894) in an attempt to shift the focus of incarceration from retributive deterrence to reform and rehabilitation.

23.speak of (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - talk about, discuss, deal with, mention, refer to, comment, remark.

24.in case of (phrase)

English Meaning - in the event of; if something happens.

25.point out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - indicate, show, refer to, mention, identify.

26.tamper-proof (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to something (a device/product) that can not changed/damaged; impenetrable/impervious, resistant/repellent.

27.heinous (adjective)

English Meaning - wicked, horrible, terrible, awful, disgraceful, shameful, outrageous, hateful, shocking.

28.violate (verb)

English Meaning - breach, break, infract, infringe, contravene, offend, transgress, go against.

29.infringe (noun)

English Meaning - contravene, violate, breach, break, flout, disobey, defy, fail to observe.

30.Right to Privacy (noun)

English Meaning - the right to privacy is a fundamental right and is an integral part of the right to life and liberty. It refers to a legal framework that provides individuals a legal right to protect their or their data’s privacy.

31.the accused (noun)

English Meaning - the suspect.

32.pin (verb)

English Meaning - link, attach, join.

33.out of hand (phrase)

English Meaning - out of control, unmanageable, ungovernable, uncontrollable, impossible.

34.House committees (noun)

English Meaning - The parliamentary (standing & select) committees; They do close examination and investigation of government policies, actions and spending.

35.Parliamentary Standing Committee/Parliamentary panel (noun)

English Meaning - it is a committee (consisting of Members of Parliament) constituted usually on an annual basis to enable detailed consideration/discussion on all bills (all proposed laws).

36.Parliamentary select committee (noun)

English Meaning - ‘parliamentary select committee’ can be formed for a specific purpose, for instance, to deliberate on a particular bill. Once the Bill is disposed of, that select committee ceases to exist.

37.cost-effective (adjective)

English Meaning - economical, moderate, reasonably priced.

38.consent (noun)

English Meaning - approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, concurrence.

39.cite (verb)

English Meaning - invoke, mention, refer to, point to, adduce, turn to, resort to.

40.occupancy (noun)

English Meaning - the act of using/living in a particular place.

41.matter of concern (phrase)

English Meaning - something which causes worry.

42.amount to (verb)

English Meaning - be equal to, be equivalent to, be tantamount to, represent.

43.ought to (modal verb)

English Meaning - must, should.

44.welcome (adjective)

English Meaning - pleasing, agreeable, favourable, promising, much needed.

45.jurisdiction (noun)

English Meaning - territory, region, area, domain (over which a court has an authority, power to hear a case & make legal decisions).

46.offender (noun)

English Meaning - criminal, culprit, wrongdoer, lawbreaker, perpetrator.

47.in terms of (phrase)

English Meaning - regarding, concerning, with regard to, with reference to.

48.shed (verb)

English Meaning - discard, dismiss, let go, get rid of, do away with, abandon, drop, throw out, cast aside.

49.reluctance (noun)

English Meaning - unwillingness, disinclination, hesitation.

50.stigmatisation (noun)

English Meaning - a negative attitude or idea about a mental, physical, or social feature of a person or group of people that implies social disapproval. accusation, cursing, denouncement, discredit, dishonor, disparagement.