ORISSA PRISONS-STRUCTURE, FUNCTION

AND PROCESS

AMARENDRA MOHANTY and NARAYAN HAZARY

This article deals mainly with the existing pattern of organization and functions of the Jail Department in
Orissa. Prison administration in Orissa suffers from a number of structural and functional maladies. For the
eradication of such maladies some remedies are suggested. A separate cadre of prison officials, selection of
the Inspector General of Prisons from the jail department, establishment of a Prison Research Bureau, are the
possible solutions to meet the present crisis of prison administration in Orissa.

Mr. Amarendra Mohanty is Lecturer in Political Science at M.P.C. College, Baripada, Mayurbhanj.

Dr. Narayan Hazary is Reader in Public Administration, Department of Political Science, Utkal University, Vani
Vihar, Bhubaneswar 751 004.

In India, all institutions for the confinement of prisoners convicted, unconvicted, civil
and security, are under the authority of the respective State Governments and
controlled by the Minister for Jails. Until the Government of India Act, 1919, the Jail
Department was a part of the Central Government. Under the said Act, it was
transferred to provincial control as a reserved subject. The Act of 1935 abolished
diarchy in the provinces and transferred the department to the Minister's control. The
Minister is assisted by secretaries from the senior cadre of the Indian Administrative
Service. Under the present Constitution, at the Central level, prisons are a part of the
responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while probation and juvenile
delinquency are looked after by the Department of Social Welfare. At the state level,
there is no uniform pattern. Generally, an Inspector General of Prisons looks after the
prison administration.1

The jail represents the smallest unit of the prison system. It is the permanent place of
detention of those who are condemned to imprisonment by the courts. Prisoners are
accommodated in huge buildings closely guarded by sentries.2

The Inspector General of Prisons is the executive head of the Jail Department. He is
entrusted with carrying out the policy, framed by the Minister of Home Affairs. The
first appointment to the post was made in the North Western Province (present Uttar
Pradesh) on the recommendation of the Macaulay Committee Report in the year
1844. In 1850, the Government of India made it a permanent appointment.3

After the creation of the province in the year 1936, in Orissa, the Director of Health
was continuing as the ex-officio Inspector General of Prisons. Dr. Edward Galway
the U.N. criminologist, who visited this state in December 1952, recommended that
this state should have a separate prison department and should include different
correctional activities. On the basis of his recommendation, the post of I.G. of Prisons
was separated from the Director of Health with effect from 1st July, 1954. From
1954 till 1983, this office was managed mainly by the officers of the Medical
Department. However, since 1983, the office of the I.G. of Prisons in Orissa has been
188 Amarendra Mohanty and Narayan Hazary

attached to the Indian Police Service. Regarding the appointment of the I.G. of
Prisons, the Jail Manual of Orissa gives priority to a Commissioned Medical Officer,
and in case of non-availability of such an officer, the Government may appoint any
other officer whom it thinks fit.4

The general control of superintendence of jails in the state is vested in the I.G. and all
the Magistrates and Jail officers obey the orders issued by him in all matters, relating
to the internal economy, discipline and the management of jails. He exercises full
control over all expenditure in jails, submitting annually to the Government, through
the Comptroller, the budget. Every superintendent, jailor, assistant jailor, and sub-
assistant jailor, warder, compounder, clerk and the subordinate staff employed in the
manufactory department of a jail, are employed by the I.G. and cannot be dismissed
by any officer subordinate to him.5 He may transfer, place in a lower grade or dismiss
the jail subordinates. He has the power to order the transfer of prisoners from any jail
in Orissa to another jail within the state. He is expected to visit personally all jails and
other institutions under the jail department during the course of the year. At least
once every six months, the I.G. has to visit the persons confined under the Indian
Lunacy Act.6 He is responsible for jail manufacture and prison industries.

The I.G. is the medium of communication between the Government and every officer
of the department. It is his duty to supply information for answers to questions put in
the legislature. He has to hear appeals referred by the members of the prison staff
against supersessions and punishments.7 The Inspector General is the head of a
department which deals with the present and future of thousands of his fellow
citizens. He has many jails and several thousand prisoners in his charge; and has to
control the work of the superintendents, jailors, warders as well as the medical staff.
He has to carry out modern reforms in his department and, to achieve this objective,
he has to keep himself abreast of modern trends on the subject. To a large extent, on
him will depend the success or failure of the prison administration in the state.8
According to Reckless, the U.N. expert, the Inspector General of Prisons' office
should have a positive orientation of leadership, help, service rather than a negative
one of inspection, checking up, and maintaining the status' quo. A Director of Prison
Administration, ...would be a lot better for India than an Inspector.9

The first Orissa Jail Reforms Committee, which submitted its report in 1955,
suggested that the nomenclature of the Head of the Department should be in keeping
with the correctional programme. It, therefore, suggested that the Head of the
Department should be called the "Director General of Correctional Services"
instead of the present nomenclature of the Inspector General of Prisons. This is in full
consonance with the suggestions made in this regard by Edward Galway, the U.N.
criminologist.10 In view of the above recommendations, it is suggested that the
present nomenclature of the I.G. of Prisons should be changed and renamed as the
Director General of Correctional Services. The Government of Orissa has already
changed the nomenclature of the Head of the Police Department who is at present
known as the Director General of Police. Hence, it is time that the present I.G. of
Prisons be renamed as Director General of Correctional Services.

The Prison service in England is administered by the Prison Commission, which is

responsible to the Secretary of State in the Home Department and is housed in the
Home office. It consists of the Chairman and four Commissioners of Prisons, who are
 Orissa Prisons — Structure, Function and Process 189

also Directors of Convict Prisons, one of whom, for some years now has been a
medical man who has served in the prisons as a medical officer. They visit the convict
prisons frequently and the "local" Prisons occasionally. Formerly, all the
Commissioners had prison experience. But, for sometime now, it has been the
practice to appoint first Division clerks from the Home office to two of these posts,
leaving one to an Inspector of Prisons, and one to the Medical Officer to whom a
reference has been already made.11

In the United States of America, there is no separate authority corresponding to the

Inspector General of Prisons or Prison Commissioners. According to the form of
organization existing in a particular state, in America, the Warden (superintendent)
reports direct to the Institutional Board of Trustees, or the State Prison Commission,
or the Board of Control, or the State Department, or the ex-officio Board or the
Administrative Board. The members of these boards combine, in themselves, the
functions of the Minister for jails and the Inspector General of Prisons in India, and
that of the Home Secretary and the Prison Commission in England. The members are
appointed by the Governor. They determine the policies, appoint officials and
manage institutional affairs.12 No single type of organization, as in India or England,
has evolved in that country.

There is a Deputy Inspector General of Prisons in Orissa to relieve the Inspector

General of the duty of inspection of all jails and to assist him in his work at the
headquarters. He is a man from the Revenue Department and belongs to the Senior
Class I rank of the Orissa Administrative Service.

Next to the D.I.G., there is one A.I.G. of Prisons who also belongs to the Revenue
Department, and is of O.A.S. Class II cadre.

There is one Accounts officer who belongs to the Orissa Finance Service and looks to
the financial administration of the Directorate. Besides, there is one Establishment
Officer who is a ministerial promotee officer. The I.G. of Prisons is assisted by two
Personal Assistants, one non-technical, and another technical. The non-technical
Personal Assistant is a ministerial promotee officer and the Technical Personal
Assistant is a promotee from the post of stenographer. There is one Audit Superin-
tendent. He is selected from among the auditors. Again, there are Section Officers
assisted by junior and senior assistants respectively.

There is no Central Jail in Orissa and the Cuttack Circle Jail is functioning as the
Central Jail. In Orissa, there are four Circle Jails situated at Cuttack, Berhampur,
Sambalpur and Baripada, respectively. All are in the category of first class jails. These
four jails are headed by whole time superintendents who belong to the O.A.S. Junior
Class I cadre. There are nine district jails situated at Koraput, Balasore, Dhenkanal,
Puri, Bhabanipatna, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Keonjhar and Phulbani. Out of these nine
district jails, Koraput and Balasore are first class district jails and the rest are second
class district jails. There are two special jails, one at Rourkela and another at
Bhubaneswar. The Rourkela special jail is a first class jail, whereas, Bhubaneswar
special jail is a second class jail. There is one Juvenile Jail at Angul. Whole time
Superintendents are in charge of the District Jails including Special Jails and the
Juvenile Jail. These whole time Superintendents are promoted from the post of Jailors.
There are six special sub-jails, thirty-four sub-jails and seven Taluk sub-jails. The
Subdivisional Medical Officer of the subdivisions holds collateral superintendency
190 Amarendra Mohanty and Narayan Hazary

of all the special sub-jails in addition to his own duties. The superintendency of Taluk
sub-jails is with the Taluk Magistrates as before.13 Thus, the total number of jails in
Orissa is 63.14
In the Circle Jail and District Jails, the power of superintendency is vested in the
hands of whole time Superintendents, whereas, in sub-jails the Superintendents are
part-time officers. Earlier, barring a few Circle Jails and District Jails, where whole
time Superintendents were in charge, most jails were under the supervision of the
C.D.M.O at the district level and the S.D.M.O at the subdivisional level. Commenting
on this practice, Reckless, observes, "untrained in modern methods of Penology and
Criminology, overworked in medical duties and elaborate form filling job, both in the
Civil Hospital and in the Jail, distracted by inspection of distant dispensaries and
private calls, postmortem examination and Court attendance as a witness, this
hardworked official had neither the time nor the energy to improve the atmosphere in
Jail Administration. In such a system, fairplay, personal touch and constant
supervision become impossible. Formal day to day routine work engaged his
attention much more than any penological problem. So far as this officer was
concerned, it was just marking time".15 The superintendency of jails is a highly
technical piece of work, or skilled profession in itself, and cannot be performed in a
few spare hours by men wholly untrained for it, who are not selected
by reason of their fitness for it, but slip into the post by the mere accident of their
being civil surgeons.16
Again, regarding the appointment of the O.A.S. officers as Superintendents, it may be
said that prisons service, is a highly specialised social service, which is beyond the
competence of a generalist administrator, however competent he may be in his own
sphere. In striking contrast, the policy in the U.K. is to select the Governors
(equivalent of our superintendents) from within the prison service. Entry to the
Governor grades is through the grade of Assistant Governor. Recruitment to the latter
grade is from three sources; first, direct promotion of chief Officers or Foremen of
workers under the normal promotion board procedure; secondly, selection of young
officers through a staff course which lasts usually for six months, preparatory to the
final selection; and thirdly, an open competition held by the Civil Services
Commission for which the prison officers may also apply.
The Superintendent must be free from details to take a long view of the real problems
instead of being hampered by routine work. The subordinate staff generally behave
according to the nature of the superintendent. The Superintendent must see that his
subordinate staff are not discontented or restless. One of the main duties of the
Superintendent is to develop the efficiency and loyalty of the staff.17
It may be of interest to note that the system of part-time superintendentship of
medical officers is peculiar to India. Neither the Governor in England, nor the Warder
in the United States, is a part-time officer even in the smaller jails. On the whole, there
seems to be no reason why the system should be retained in this country where the
problem of rehabilitation of prisoners is no less complex than it is in England or in the
United States.18
The general duties of the Superintendent are defined in Section II of the Government
of India Prisons Act, 1894. He is the head of the institution and subject to the orders
of the Inspector General, manages the prison in all matters relating to discipline,
labour, expenditure, punishment and control. The detailed rules, regarding the
carrying out of these duties, are laid down in the Orissa Jail Manual.
 Orissa Prisons — Structure, Function and Process 191

The Jailor is the Chief executive officer of the jail and controls the whole subordinate
jail establishment under the orders of the Superintendent, and assists the Superin-
tendent on all occasions. He is responsible for the strict carrying out of ail the rules in
the Jail Manual relating to the management of the jail and prisoners. All the
officers subordinate to the Jailor are under his control and should obey his orders.19
Posting of warder guards, distribution of labour to convicts, check of convicts during
the hours of work, care of arms and amunition, prevention of escapes and safe
custody of prisoners, visit to gangs working outside, supervision of buildings, care and
maintenance of gardens, checking of entries regarding admission and release, safe
custody of jail records, warrants, scrutiny of indents for provisions and materials
required for consumption in the jail, are some of the responsibilities enjoined by the
Jail Manual on the Jailor. The Jailor supervises the purchase of materials for the
factory and building departments, verifies all stores quarterly, checks remissions,
revision sheets, registers, accounts and records of the prison. As head
accountant and treasurer, he has custody of the cash, prisoner's jewellery and
valuables, maintains the cash book and prepares abstract bills. As head store keeper,
he weighs all provisions purchased, and examines and weighs all goods sent from the
factory to the store.20

The Indian Jails Committee, 1920, rightly pointed out,

It is difficult to exaggerate the responsibilities which necessarily attach to the
post of Jailor. As the chief executive officer under the Superintendent, it lies with
him to supervise the working of all the branches of the jail. The safe keeping,
comfort, health and reformation of the prisoners in the jail largely depend upon the
character and influence of the Jailor. We should feel it necessary to recommend
higher pay for Jailors and we also recommend that in future all Jailors should be
gazetted officers.21
The Eighth All India Conference of the Inspectors General of Prisons held at Bombay
in 1952, in its seventh resolution opined that the post of Jailor should be suitably
altered. It was further resolved that the post of Jailor should be gazetted. Promotion
to the category of Assistant Superintendents or Superintendents should be limited to
50 per cent of the cadre of Jailors. The minimum qualifications of the future entrants
should be B.A. or B.Sc. Preference should be given to men who are qualified in social
welfare work.22
In our state there were nineteen Jailors till the end of the year 1979.23 All Jailors are
selected by promotion from the post of Assistant Jailors. To relieve the Jailor of many
of his clerical duties such as the writing books and registers and preparing
statements, Assistant Jailors have been appointed. They work under the control of the
Superintendent and perform such executive duties as the latter may, by an order,
prescribe.24 The Assistant Jailor is the Jailor's immediate assistant, whose duty it is to
take the Jailor's place whenever he is absent.25 It is decided by the Government of
Orissa that 75 per cent of the posts of Assistant Jailors should be filled by direct
recruitment. The remaining 25 per cent should be filled by promotion from amongst
the Sub-assistant Jailors. The minimum educational qualification for direct
recruitment shall be a bachelor's degree or its equivalent.
It is also decided that the post of Sub-Assistant Jailor should be filled both by
promotion and direct recruitment. Seventy-five per cent of the posts shall be filled up
by promotion from amongst the guarding staff and 25 per cent by direct recruitment
for which the minimum qualification should be Intermediate.26
192 Amarendra Mohanty and Narayan Hazary

Thus, the post of the Assistant Jailor, as a matter of fact, forms the training ground
where officers can learn the duties of the Jailor and can be tested for their fitness to
take up the responsibilities of the Jailor as and when vacancies occur. The newly
recruited Assistant Jailors are to undergo a training at a Jail training school.27 In our
state, a Training School has started since 1984 at Berhampur where training facilities
are provided for Assistant and Sub-Assistant Jailors.

The Sub-Assistant Jailor is usually given the charge of stores, accounts, manufacture
and raw materials. The duties of Sub-Assistant Jailors are generally of a clerical
nature, but they may also perform executive duties. In fact, in the prisons of this
country, there does not exist any hard and fast distinction between a clerk and an
executive officer for every executive officer performs certain clerical duties and every
clerical officer performs, in addition to his clerical duties, certain executive duties.28
Now, there are 49 Assistant Jailors and 96 Sub-Assistant Jailors working in all the jails
of Orissa.29

The warders are included among the guarding staff of the prisons. They are classified
as Reserve Warder Guard, who are armed and who usually discharge the semi-
military duty, and Intramural Warder Guard whose duties are watch and ward, and to
some extent the supervision of labour.

There are three classes of Warders at present in Orissa such as Chief Headwarder,
Headwarder and Warder. For the purpose of appointment and control of warders,
Jails in Orissa are divided into four Circles with a Circle Jail in each circle. The
Superintendents of Circle Jails alone (subject to the control of the I.G.) exercise the
power to appoint, promote, degrade or dismiss any Head Warder or Warder of his
Circle and transfer them from his own jail to any other district jail of the Circle.30

Appointments to the post of Head Warder are made from amongst the Warders on the
basis of seniority. Appointments to the posts of Chief Head Warder are made by the
Superintendent of the Circle Jail concerned, from among the Headwarders attached
to the jails in his Circle.31 The minimum educational qualification for the Warder is
matriculation. The Davey Committee, in its meeting held on 18-8-76, has
recommended that the Superintendents of District Jails should be the appointing
authority in respect of the guarding staff in District Jails and sub-jails within the
district. The Chief Head Warder is subject to the general control of the Jailor,
entrusted with the supervision of all the details of the internal administration of the
jail.32

The duties of the Chief Head Warder are to post the Warders under the orders of the
Jailor; to assist him at the unlocking, the midday-count and the locking up, and in the
distribution of labour in the morning and at midday; visit and count at uncertain hours
all gangs working inside the jail; visit the main wall, make secure all gratings, doors or
other openings of enclosures and barracks, and pay surprise visits to all gangs
working outside the jail.

The duties of the Head Warder are to maintain cleanliness, order and discipline
among the prisoners in his charge; count the prisoners from time to time and satisfy
that all the prisoners are present, search the prisoners, give information of any plot
made by prisoners to escape, or of any assault or of any outbreak, and to see that all
bamboos, scantlings, poles, ladders, ropes, likely to be used for escape, are secure.
 Orissa Prisons — Structure, Function and Process 193

A literate Head Warder is constantly on duty as the Gate-keeper at the main gate of
every jail by day and night. The Gate-keeper maintains a gate book for recording the
name and description of all persons passing into or out of the jail; the time at which
any money is sent out of the jail to the treasury, with description of the chalan, the
time at which the bell is rung for the unlocking and locking up or for alarm.

The Reserve Warder Guard does not take any part in the daily routine of the jail. He is
entirely segregated from the prisoners inside the jail, except when employed to
escort the Superintendent or a visitor on his rounds through the jail. The Chief Head
Warder is in charge of the Guard in the Circle Jail and of the Reserve Head Warder in
District Jail. Their main duty is to provide sentries at the main gate and at the walls
day and night.33 At present we have 15 Chief Head Warders, 135 Head
Warders and 987 Warders (male and female).34

The medical care of the prisons is in the hands of a Medical Officer. The Medical
Officer remains in charge of the sanitary administration of the prison. His duty
embraces every matter affecting the health of the prisoners and the general hygiene
of the jail. He is under the control of the I.G. of prisons.35 It is the duty of the Medical
Officer to visit the jails at least once a day, or more if necessary. He looks to the
drainage, water supply, ventilation, cleanliness of barracks, workshops, cells, and
yards. He inspects kitchens, feeding, and checks the ration before cooking. He
attends to the patients in hospitals. He supervises the supply and preparation of food
served to the prisoners. He orders for post-mortem examination of the dead. He
reports to the I.G. regularly about the mortality in a jail. On the recommendation of
the Medical Officer, prisoners can be transferred to different jails.36

In Orissa, in the Circle and District Jails, there are hospitals where whole time Medical
Officer work. Besides, in the two special jails and the juvenile jail at Angul, there are
hospitals where whole time Medical Officers are appointed. In Bhanjanagar Special
Sub-Jail, there is also a hospital facility as this jail is exclusively meant for prisoners
suffering from leprosy. In other sub-jails and taluk jails, the S.D.M.Os who act as the
Superintendents, continue as Medical Officers.

The Medical Officers are deputed by the Director, Medical and Health Services, to
the Jail Department, from the state cadre. They are of Assistant Surgeon rank. During
the period of deputation, they are directly under the Inspector-General of Prisons,
who exercises over them control in respect of such matters as discipline, leave and
transfer. However, the power to punish by suspension, removal and dismissal cannot
be exercised by the Inspector General of Prisons. If, in the opinion of the Inspector
General, the conduct of a Medical Officer is such as requires to be punished with
suspension, removal or dismissal, he may report to the Director, Health, who shall
depute another officer to replace the Medical Officer at fault and shall take necessary
actions against him. The Jail Department pays the salaries of the Medical Officers.37

The Indian Jails Committee, 1920, was opposed to the scheme of a separate jail
medical service. They thought that it would be exceedingly unlikely that a man of the
required qualifications would enter the jail service, that the creation of this service
would necessitate the maintenance of an independent leave reserve, that a medical
officer rendering continuous service in jails could, after a certain number of years,
become disgusted with the monotony of jail life, and lastly, that the present system
was working satisfactorily.38 The Committee further suggested, as an alternative, that
194 Amarendra Mohanty and Narayan Hazary

the selection of Medical Officers for jail duties should be made on the basis of a
regular roster, on which every officer's name should be entered, and according to
which every officer should be liable to take his turn of service in the Jail
Department.39

According to the report of the Orissa Jail Reforms Committee, 1955, in order that jails
may function as correctional institutions, it is necessary that Medical Officers and
medical subordinates attached to the Jail Department should have special training in
correctional methods. This can be done by deputing Medical Officers in batches to
the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for short course of training in correctional
methods and such Medical Officers should be permanently retained in the jail
Department. According to the said committee it is necessary to create a cadre of
Medical Officers under the administrative control of the I.G. of prisons such as:
(1) Medical Officers Grade I and (2) Medical Officers Grade II. Grade I Medical Officer
will be in charge of medical work in the First Class District Jails and Grade II Medical
Officers will be in charge of medical work in Second Class District Jails.40

The Committee also recommended the appointment of a whole time psychiatrist to

the Jail Department with his headquarters at the Central Jail. He will be required to
visit other Jails and special institutions set apart for juvenile offenders when
required.41

Some of the Medical Officers, serving in the Jail Department, also complain of their
ridiculous position in the jail, subordination to the jailor, the many irksome duties and
the humiliations that they suffer at the hands of junior staff and prisoners. Therefore,
the only remedy seems to be the creation of a separate Jail Medical Service.42

A special feature of the Indian jail administration is the convict officer. The system
first came to Bengal from Malaya and then it spread to other parts of India. It was born
out of a need for economy.43 In the State of Orissa there are two grades of convict
officers such as (i) convict watchman and (ii) convict overseers. Prisoners appointed
as convict officers are public servants within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code.
The maximum number of convict officers in a jail should, in no way, be increased
beyond 10 per cent of the daily average population of the jail. The convict officers are
chosen from the rank of simple imprisonment prisoners.44

In order to be appointed as a convict watchman, the prisoner shall possess the

following qualifications:

(1) he is not sentenced to less than six months' imprisonment, if at a Central Jail,
and to less than four months, if at a District Jail,
(2) he has completed one-fourth of his sentence exclusive of remission,
(3) he has not been convicted for thugee, drugging or unnatural offence,
(4) he is physically fit to perform the duties of the office,
(5) he must be well behaved,
(6) If on remission system, he has earned or maintained three-fourths of the
possible remission.
 Orissa Prisons — Structure, Function and Process 195

These appointments are ordinarily reserved for prisoners who are under the
remission system.45
The convict watchman may be promoted by the superintendent to be a convict
overseer provided that
(a) he has served as a convict watchman for three months,
(b) he has served half of his sentence or seven years (exclusive of remission),
whichever is less.
The duties of the convict watchman and convict overseer are:
(a) to patrol the inside wards and maintain or assist in maintaining discipline and
order at night,
(b) to prevent prisoners leaving their berths,
(c) to count the prisoners,
(d) to prevent the breach of jail rules by any prisoner,
(e) to act as a messenger within the jail walls and escort prisoners from one part
of the jail to the other,
(f) to obey the superintendent, jailor, or any jail official or officer of the Public
Works Department, under whom they may be placed,
(g) to take charge of a gang,
(h) to keep the history tickets of the prisoners of the gangs in their charge,
(i) to defend any jail official in case of assault,
(j) to give notice of any breaches of jail rules, plots or conspiracies.46
Opinion is sharply divided as to the intrinsic value of the system of employing convict
officers. Those who condemn the system, consider it contrary to the accepted
principles of penology to place one prisoner, while still undergoing punishment, in a
position of authority over his fellow prisoners. The convict officer, however
apparently well behaved, is a criminal whose actions have proved that he requires
reformation. "Is it likely", they ask, "that such a man is going to exercise a good
influence on those around him?47 Many evils in jails can be traced to them and since
the system places a depraved man in the position of authority over other persons,
some of the latter may be trained by him.48

The system, we think, is a valuable one if it can be put to right use. Besides being an
administrative necessity from the view point of economy, it exercises a wholesome
influence upon the inmates. In a prison, the number of convict officers is usually three
times that of trie paid warders. If these convict officers are replaced by a paid class of
warders, the states should have to incur an additional large expenditure.49 It is only
for this reason that the Orissa Reforms Committee, 1955, in its report recommended
that well behaved prisoners may be appointed as convict warders for guarding inside
the jail.50 *
196 Amarendra Mohanty and Narayan Hazary

The Indian Jails Committee, 1920, did not arrive at any final conclusion in the matter
as they were not in agreement as to which opinion, between the two opposing views,
should prevail. But the greater value of the system lies in its wholesome influence
upon the inmates. The salutary effects of inmates participation in prison affairs have
long been recognized. The responsible duties entrusted to the prisoners develop
their initiative and resourcefulness, restore their sense of self-respect and prepare
them better for social readjustment, and make them responsible, more than any other
prison programme can do. The system, in our view, should form the hub of the entire
machinery of prison administration.51 The allegation that is often cited against them, is
that they will corrupt the prison population but there may not be a danger if
approached from the right point of view. This danger can be obviated by depriving
such officers of any disciplinary powers, as in the case of leaders in some English
prisons.

A serious defect in the organization of the Jail Department is the absence of any staff
agencies. The prime function of the Minister for Jails is to frame policies and that of
the Inspector General to decide the manner in which such policies shall be given
effect. Neither of them has the technical advice of officers having special
competence in respect of matters with which they deal.

Willoughby is of the opinion that, for technical advice, reliance cannot be placed upon
the subordinate officers because, firstly, they are interested parties seeking
something, which it is the duty of the head to determine whether to grant or not;
secondly, they are the ones who, for the most part, raise questions to be answered;
thirdly, they have the knowledge of the work of their own divisions and are not
interested in the needs and problems of the service as a whole; and, finally, a decision
can be made in many cases only after careful investigation of the factors involved in
the question.52

Hence, there is a need for special unit of organization, the sole function of which will
be to keep in touch with the organization, methods, needs and problems of the
service as a whole, to collect information upon which fundamental decisions
regarding the policies and procedure must be based, and to act as the technical
adviser of the administrative and the executive head of the department so that they
would not be misled by the subordinates. These special units have been designated
by writers on public administration as "staff agencies". Their most characteristic
feature is that they are subordinate to none and have no responsibility for authority in
respect of the actual performance of the services. Their duties are exclusively of a
research, consultative and advisory character. They are one step removed from the
direct line which descends right from the Minister to the Warders.

It is not an executive body; it is not an administrative body. It acts only through

the authority of others. It makes intelligent command possible by procuring and
arranging information and working out plans in detail, and it keeps intelligent and
effective agents advised of the part they are to perform in the general scheme.53

To assist the staff agencies in the work of research and advice, the establishment of a
Bureau of Prison Research is necessary. The importance of research, and the need
for statistics pertaining to the various problems of prison administration cannot be
minimised in the task of the social rehabilitation of prisoners. The data available at
 Orissa Prisons — Structure, Function and Process 197

present is very scanty. The Bureau will fulfil this need and maintain up-to-date,
correct and full information about the working of prisons and supply it to social
workers interested in the task of social regeneration. The All India Jail Manual
Committee has, in its report, recommended the setting up of State Advisory Boards
with a Research and Planning Unit in each state.54

It is really unfortunate that in Orissa, Prison as a Department has never developed as

a separate entity, and it is yet to establish its identity. Like the other departments of
the government such as Revenue, Police and Judiciary, hardly any material is
available in this field. Therefore, there has been very slow progress of growth of
prison administration and whatever improvements have been made are too
insignificant. Till now, the post of the I.G. of Prisons has not been held by a person
belonging to the prison cadre. Previously, this post belonged to doctors and now to
the I.P.S. Cadre. Similarly, the post of D.I.G. and A.I.G. also belong to the cadre of the
Orissa Administrative Service. These officers come temporarily to the Department,
spend a few years and, before they get themselves acquainted with the problems of
the Department, they are again transferred. Hence, it is desirable that this State
should have a Department of Prisons and Correctional Services, dealing with adult
and young offenders, their institutional care, treatment, after-care and probation. The
National Policy on Prisons also endeavours to develop prison services as a
professional career service. This could be done by developing a prison cadre based
on proper training, promotional avenues and appropriate job requirements. An All
India Service, namely, the Indian Prisons and Correctional Service, should be
constituted to induct better qualified people. The government—both at the centre and
the states—should provide adequate funds for the development of prisons.55

The first Orissa Jail Reforms Committee, which submitted its report in 1955,
recommended that a separate Prison Department be established with a whole time
I.G. of Prisons.56 An undercurrent of discontentment among the Prison staff has now
come to the surface. Their duties are of an arduous nature and confined to a
monotonous area. Their scales of salary should be equalised with those of the
corresponding police cadre.57

REFERENCES

1. "Prisons In India", (Department of Social Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, 1969): 5.
2. Bejoy Shanker, Haikerwal, "Economic and Social Aspects of Crime in India," (Allen and Unwin, London,
1934): 198.

3. Vidya Bhusan, "Prison Administration In India", (S. Chand, Delhi, 1970): 39.
4. Orissa Jail Manual, Vol. I, (Government Press, Cuttack, 1964): 8.

5. Ibid.,: 11-12.
6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.
8. Vidya Bhusan, n. 3,: 40.

9. United Nations Report on Jail Administration In India, (Reckless—Chairman, 1953): 18.

10. Orissa Jail Reforms Committee Report, 1955, (Lal Mohan Patnaik—Chairman): 35.
198 Amarendra Mohanty and Narayan Hazary

11. Indian Jails Committee Report, 192D: 523.

12. F.E. Haynes, "The American Prison System." (McGraw Hill, New York, 1993): 63.

13. Annual Administration Report of the Jail Department for the year 1979, Orissa Government Press,
Cuttack: 2.

14. Ibid.,: 1.

15. Reckless, n.9,: 12.

16. P.K. Tarapore, "Prison Reforms In India," (Bombay, 1936): 136.

17. B.K. Bhattacharya, "Prisons", (S. C. Sarkar, Calcutta, 1958): 8-9.

18. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 46.

19. Orissa Jail Manual, n.4,: 69.

20. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 47.

21. Indian Jails Comittee, n.11,: 52.

22. Proceeding of Eighth All India Conference of the Inspector General of Prisons held at Bombay, 1952:13.

23. Annual Administration Report, n.13,: 52.

24. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 48.

25. Orissa Jail Manual, n.4,: 80.

26. Extract from the Proceedings of the meeting held on 18-9-76 in the Office of the Chief Secretary Orissa.

27. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 48.

28. Ibid.,: 48.

29. Annual Administration Report, n.13,: 4.

30. Orissa Jail Manual, n.4,: 85.

31. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 49.

32. Orissa Jail Manual, n.4,: 90.

33. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 49-50.

34. Annual Administration Report, n.13,: 14.

35. Orissa Jail Manual, n.4,: 28-29.

36. Ibid.,: 31-34.

37. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 5 1 .

38. Indian Jails Committee, n.11,: 60-64.

39. Ibid.,: 62.

40. Lal Mohan Patnaik Committee, n.10,: 11-12.

41. Ibid.,: 11.

42. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 53.

43. B. K. Bhattacharya, n.17,: 11.

44. Orissa Jail Manual, n.4,: 120-121.

45. Ibid.,: 122.

46. Ibid.,: 124-126.

47. Indian Jails Committee, 1920, n.12,: 68.

 Orissa Prisons — Structure, Function and Process 199

48. B.K. Bhattacharya, n.17,: 11.

49. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 64.
50. Lal Mohan Patnaik Committee, n.10,: 48.
51. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 64-65.
52. W.F. Willoughby, "Principles of Public Administration", (Central Book Depot, Allahabad, 1952): 129.
53. Quoted in Willoughby, n.52,: 271.
54. Vidya Bhusan, n.3,: 61.
55. Kumkum Chadha, "The Indian Jail", (Vikas, Delhi, 1983): 176.
56. Lal Mohan Patnaik Committee, n.10,: 48.
57. Orissa Jail Reforms Committee Report, (Chairman-Harihar Mohapatra), 1981, (unpublished): 10.