Disabled inmates must be allowed to self-identify: plea

A Kerala-based activist, whose petition highlighting the traumatic prison days of late Professor G. Saibaba and Stan Swamy led the Supreme Court to constitute a high-powered committee to free Indian prisons from the colonial yoke, has suggested introducing a mechanism to allow disabled prisoners/detainees to self-identify and declare their disability.

States have an obligation under Article 7 of the Convention. Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act To protect persons with disabilities (PwD) from violence, abuse or exploitation, the following was said in detailed written submissions prepared by lawyers Kaleeswaram Raj and Thulasi K. Raj on behalf of activist-petitioner Sathyan Naravoor.

The applications were placed before the high-powered committee appointed by the apex court, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice S. Ravindra Bhat. The document argued that PwDs were particularly vulnerable to exploitation by prison staff and other inmates.

The state needs to create conditions that will protect and save them from the moment they enter prison. “For this, there must be mechanisms to enable PwDs to self-identify and declare their disability, which can then be verified through sensitive and informed medical checks,” the applications said.

A standard and objective evaluation for individuals claiming to be mentally disabled should preferably be made by experts in the field.

The presentations recommended that prison records identify each disabled person individually and make reasonable adjustments for them while respecting their privacy. These steps have been proposed under Section 55(B) of the Model Prisons and Correctional Institutions Act, 2023, issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs as a framework for States and Union Territories to review and update colonial-era prison laws in their jurisdictions.

The petitioner stated that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which is responsible for collecting and publishing data on prisoners in the country, does not recognize seven of the eight categories of disabilities under the RPwD Act.

The applications noted that while the NCRB collects data on inmates with mental illness, there is no information on inmates or inmates with locomotor, visual, auditory, speech and language, intellectual disabilities, mental illness, neurological/blood disorders, and multiple disabilities.

He said Open Correctional Institutions were inherently better equipped than closed prisons to accommodate reasonable adjustments for PwDs in accordance with the RPwD Act.

The claims underlined that disabled inmates are more likely to need mental health care. “Article 11 of the Mental Health (Rights of Persons with Mental Illness) Rules 2018 provides for minimum standards of mental health services in prisons. Its standards effectively mandate the appointment of one psychiatrist, four counselors and a 20-bed psychiatric ward for every 500 inmates,” the document said.

He said PwDs with intellectual disabilities are the most “invisible” groups in prisons. These individuals are particularly disadvantaged in accessing justice and legal aid and may face harsher conditions in prison due to difficulties in understanding and complying with prison rules.

In April, the Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath had issued an order stating that “the rights of prisoners with disabilities must be recognized and implemented in a manner consistent with a humane, rights-based approach.”