Prisoners Act, 1900

(1) This Act may be called the Prisoners Act, 1900. 2[(2) It extends to the whole of India except the territories which, immediately before the 1st. November, 1956, was comprised in Part B States.]

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,- (a) "Court" includes a Coroner and officer lawfully exercising civil, criminal or revenue jurisdiction; and (b) "prison" include any place which has been declared by the 4[State Government], by general or special order, to be a subsidiary jail; 5[(c) "State" means a part A State or a Part C State, and "State" means all the territories for the time being compromised within Part A State and Part C State.

committed to their custody The officer incharge of a prison shall receive and detain all persons duly committed to his custody, under this Act or otherwise, by any Court, according to the exigency of any writ, warrant or order by which such person has been committed, or until such person is discharged or removed in due course of law.

after execution of discharge The officer in charge of a prison shall forthwith, after the execution of very such writ, under or warrant as aforesaid other than a warrant of commitment for the trial, or after the discharge of the person committed thereby, return such writ, order or warrant to the Court by which the same was issued or made, together with a certificate, endorsed thereon and signed by him, showing how the charged has been executed, or why the person committed thereby has been discharged from custody before the execution thereof.

Every writ or warrant for the arrest of any person issued by the High Court in the exercise of its ordinary, extraordinary or other criminal jurisdiction shall be directed to and executed by a Police-officer within the local limits of such jurisdiction.

of presidency prisons The 4[State Government] may appoint officers who shall have authority to receive and detain prisons committed to there custody under this Part. Explanation.- Any officer so appointed, by whatever designation he may be styled, is hereinafter referred to as "the Superintendent".

by High Court Where any person is sentenced by High Court in the exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction to imprisonment or to death, the Court shall cause him to be delivered to the Superintendent, together with its warrant, and such warrant shall be executed by the Superintendent and returned by him to the High Court when executed.

penal servitude by High Court Where any person is sentenced by High Court in the exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction to transportation 6[***] the Court shall cause him to be delivered for intermediate custody to the Superintendent, and the transportation 6[***] of such person shall be deemed to commence from such delivery.

execution of a decree or for contempt Where any persons is committed by the High Court, whether in execution of a decree or for contempt of Court or for other cause, the Court shall cause him to be delivered to the Superintendent, together with its warrant of commitment.

Where any person is sentenced by a Presidency Magistrate to imprisonment, or the committed to prison for failure to find security to keep the peace or to be good behavior, the Magistrate shall cause him to delivered to the Superintendent, together with his warrant.

Every person committed by a Magistrate, 7[or justice of the Peace] for trial by the High Court in the exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction shall be delivered to the Superintendent together with a warrant of commitment, directing the Superintendent to produce such person before the Court for trial; and the Superintendent shall, as soon as practicable, cause such person to betaken before the Court at a criminal session thereof, together with the warrant of commitment, in order that he may be dealt according to law.

350 of the Code of Civil Procedure of application for insolvency The High Court may, pending the hearing, under 8section 350 of the code of Civil Procedure of any application for a declaration for a insolvency, cause the judgment-debtor concerned to be delivered to the Superintendent, subject of the provisions as to release on security of 8section 349 of the said Code, and the superintendent shall detain the said judgment debtor in safe custody until he is re-delivered to an officer of the High Court for the purpose of being taken before it in pursuance of its order, or until he is released in sue course of law.

of High Court or Civil Court in presidency-town (1) Every person arrested in pursuance of a writ, warrant or order of the High Court in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction, or in pursuance of a warrant of any Civil Court established in a Presidency-town under any law or enactment for the time being in force, or in pursuance of a warrant under section 5, shall be brought without delay before the Court by which, or by a Judge of which, the writ, warrant or order was issued, awarded or made, or before a judge thereof, if the said Court, or of a Judge thereof, is sitting for the exercise of original jurisdiction. (2) If the said Court, or a judge thereof, is not then sitting for the exercise of the original jurisdiction, such person arrested as aforesaid shall, unless a Judge of the said Court otherwise directs, be delivered to the Superintendent for the intermediate custody, and shall be brought before the said Court, or a Judge thereof at the next sitting of the said Court, or of a Judge thereof for the exercise of original jurisdiction in order that such person may be dealt with according to law; and the said Court or Judge shall have power to make or award all necessary order or warrants for that purpose.

construed as referring also to Reformatory School In this Part all references to prisons or to imprisonment or confinement shall be construed as referring also to Reformatory School or detention therein.

effect to sentences or certain Courts (1) Officers in charge of prisons outside the Presidency-town may give effect to any sentence or order or warrant for the detention of any person passed or issued- (a) by any Court or tribunal acting, whether within the States under the general or special authority of the Central Government, or of the Government of Burma, or by any Court or tribunal, which was before the commencement of the constitution acting under the general or special authority of His Majesty, or of the Crown Representative; or (b) before the 26th January, 1950, by any Court or tribunal in any Indian State- (i) if the presiding Judge, or if the Court or tribunal consisted of two or more Judges, at least one of the Judges, was an officer of the Crown authorized to sit as such Judge by the State or the Ruler thereof or by the Central Government or the Crown Representative; and (ii) if the reception, detention or imprisonment in any Province of India of person sentenced by any such Court or tribunal had been authorized by general or special order by the State Government; or (c) by any other Court or tribunal in a Part B with the previous sanction of the State Government in the case of each such sentence, order or warrant: Provided that effect shall not be given to any sentence order or warrant for detention passed or issued by any Court or tribunal in Burma without the previous sanction of the State Government concerned. (2) Where a Court or tribunal of such an Indian State as aforesaid has passed a sentence which could not have been executed without the occurrence of an officer of the Crown, and such sentence had been considered on the merits and confirmed by any such officer specially authorized in that behalf, such sentence, and nay order or warrant issued in pursuance thereof, shall be deemed to be sentence, order or warrant of a Court or tribunal acting under the authority of the Central Government or the Crown Representative.] Comment: To give effect to the sentence means that it is illegal to exceed it and so it follows that a prison official who goes beyond mere imprisonment or deprivation of locomotion and assaults or otherwise compels the doing of things not covered by the sentence acts in violation of Art. 19. Punishments of rigorous imprisonment oblige the inmates to do hard labor, not harsh labor and so a vindictive officer victimizing a prisoner by forcing on him particularly harsh and degrading jobs, vocatives the law's mandate. For example, a prisoner, if forced to carry night soil, may seek a habeas writ. 'Hard labor' in S.53 has to receive a humane meaning. A girl student or a male weakling sentenced to rigorous imprisonment may not be forced to break stones for nine hours a day. The prisoner cannot demand soft jobs but may reasonably be assigned congenial jobs. Sense and sympathy are not enemies of penal asylums. Sunil Batra, Petitioner v. Delhi Administration, AIR 1980 SUPREME COURT 1579

authority A warrant under the official signature of an officer of such Court or tribunal as is referred to in section 15 shall be sufficient authority for holding any person in confinement, or for sending any person for transportation, in pursuance of the sentence passed upon him.

legality of warrant sent to him for execution under this Part (1) Where an officer in charge of person doubts the legality of warrant or order sent to him for execution under this Part or the competency of the person whose official seal or signature is affixed thereto to pass the sentence and issue the warrant or order, he shall refer the matter to the 4[State Government] by whose order on the case he and all other public offence shall be guided as to the future disposal of the prisoner. (2) Pending a reference made under sub-section (1), the prisoner shall be detained in such manner and with such restrictions or mitigation as may be specified in the warrant or order.

not ordinarily executed there (1) Where a 10[court established by the authority of the Central Government] executing, in or with respect to territory beyond the limit of 11[the states] jurisdiction which the 12[Central Government] has in such territory,- (a) has sentenced any person to death, and, (b) being of opinion that such sentenced should, by reason of there being in such territory no secure place for the confinement of such person or no suitable appliances for his execution in a decent and human manner, be executed in 11[the States], has issued its warrant for the execution of such sentence to the officer incharge of a prison in 11[the State] such officer shall, on receipt of the warrant, caused the execution to be carried out at such place as may be prescribed therein in the same manner, and subject to vision of section 381 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. (2) The prisons of which the officers in charge are to execute sentences under any such warrants as aforesaid 13[shall in each 14[State] be such as the 4[State Government]] may, by general or special order direct.