Behind bars, forgotten disabilities

Behind the iron gates of Indiarsquos prisons lies a quieter injustice one that rarely makes it into police records court files or prison registers Persons with disabilities PwDs particularly those with mental health conditions are entering the criminal justice system largely unseen unrecorded and unsupportedOn Monday March 9 a new review by iProbono India a Delhibased womenled social justice organisation titled ldquoInaccessible by Design ndash A DisabilityCentred Review of State Prison Manuals in India exposes deep structural failures across prison systems in Maharashtra and the rest of the country The report examined prison manuals in 35 states and Union Territories measuring them against the standards of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016What emerges is a disturbing portrait disability is rarely identified at the earliest stage of the justice process from FIRs First Information Reports to arrest memos leaving thousands of vulnerable individuals trapped in a system that neither recognises nor accommodates themMaharashtra Where the system begins to failIn Maharashtra one of Indiarsquos largest prison systems mental health screening at admission remains inconsistent and poorly structured a pattern mirrored nationwideAcross India only 11 out of 35 states and Union Territories require any form of mental health screening when a person enters prison Even where such screening exists it is usually conducted by a prison medical officer with no requirement for a trained psychiatrist or clinical psychologistThe consequences are severe prisoners with psychosocial disabilities may go undiagnosed untreated and misunderstood ndash often misclassified as security risks rather than individuals needing careA law that exists only on paperThe iProbono latest report further reveals that India already has legal safeguards Section 103 of the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 requires prisons to conductbull Physical and mental health examinations at admissionbull Substanceuse assessmentsbull Drug testing with periodic followupsYet prison manuals across states including those influencing prison administration in Maharashtra fail to implement these mandates in practiceMost manuals lackbull Frameworks to identify psychosocial or neurodivergent conditionsbull Requirements for trained mental health professionalsbull Standardised diagnostic toolsAmong all states Karnataka stands alone in providing a standardised screening tool while Tamil Nadu is the only state to explicitly mention trained psychologists or social workers during admissionMidDayrsquos earlier reportsMidDay had earlier in April 2023 and October 2022 written a series of stories on the issue for instance in April 2023Maharashtra One psychiatrist for 42577 inmates in 64 prisonsThe state has also not implemented the Mental Healthcare Act which mandates a mental health unit in at least one prisonAlso Read Maharashtra One psychiatrist for 42577 inmates in 64 prisonsOctober 2022lsquoIndia doesnrsquot spend even Rs 100day on a prisonerrsquo How can access to medical care in prisons be improvedWhatrsquos it like to be old and imprisoned in India Latest statistics on medical care available inside Maharashtrarsquos jails paint a familiar worrying pictureAlso Read lsquoIndia doesnrsquot spend even Rs 100day on a prisonerrsquo How access to medical care in prisons can be improvedDisability used as a reason for exclusionInstead of enabling access prison policies across India frequently exclude prisoners with disabilities from opportunities that could improve their livesIn Karnataka 2021 and West Bengal 1992 prisoners deemed ldquomentally or physically unfitrdquo are barred from mandatory educational programmes the report statesAcross seven states and Union Territories prisoners with mental illness are explicitly excluded from parole and furloughIn six states those with mental health conditions are barred from open or semiopen prisons facilities designed to support rehabilitation and reintegrationDisability the report notes is treated not as a status requiring accommodation but as a disqualificationIsolation instead of careIn 17 states and Union Territories prison manuals mandate segregation of prisoners with mental illnessInstead of receiving specialised care these individuals are often confined tobull Isolation cellsbull ldquoContagiousrdquo wardsbull Cells housing highrisk or ldquodangerousrdquo prisonersSuch segregation often occurs without safeguards oversight or medical justificationWho decides a prisoner must be isolatedIn a system that holds thousands of vulnerable individuals the power to segregate them often rests with prison authorities aloneIn 17 out of 18 states prison staff can decide whether a prisoner with a disability should be isolatedbull No mandatory mental health assessmentbull No consultation with specialistsbull No independent reviewOnly Uttar Pradesh requires consultation with a medical officer yet no state requires a trained mental health professional for such decisionsThe invisible prisonersThe findings reveal a system where disability is almost invisibleKey gaps across Indiarsquos prison manuals include the followingbull Little or no mental health screening at admissionbull Absence of trained mental health specialists in assessmentsbull Continued use of ableist terminologybull Blanket exclusions from education parole furlough and open prisonsbull Routine segregation and isolation of prisoners with mental illnessA national conversation long overdueFor advocates the problem extends beyond prison walls The failure to recognise disability begins earlier mdash during policing and arrest mdash and continues through legal aid and court proceedingsThe report calls for urgent reforms across the criminal justice system emphasising that access to justice for persons with disabilities must includebull policing proceduresbull prison administrationbull legal aid systemsbull judicial processesUntil then thousands of prisoners with disabilities including those in Maharashtra will remain trapped in a system built without them in mindiProbono program manager speaksKaruvaki Mohanty Program Manager iProbono IndiaPrisoners with disabilities face heightened vulnerabilities within custodial settings where the absence of reasonable accommodation creates a compounding layer of hardship This is further aggravated for those with invisible disabilities without identification or awareness their needs remain unseen and their right to specific accommodations unmet Our review of 35 State Prison Manuals reveals a systemic failure to move beyond framing disability as a risk highlighting the urgent need for a structural redesign that centres dignity and access to justice for persons with disabilities across the entire criminal justice continuum Karuvaki Mohanty Program Manager iProbono India and Shrutika Pandey Consultant iProbono said