The West Bengal Jail Code Volume I (Part I) RULES FOR THE SUPERINTENDENCE AND MANAGEMENT OF JAILS IN WEST BENGAL (PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENT) CHAPTER I—lntroductory 1. The following Acts regulate the establishment and management of Jails, the confinement and treatment of persons therein, and the maintenance of discipline amongst them. (1) The Prisons Act,1894 (9 of 1894), as amended by the Prisons (West Bengal Amendment) Act,1957 (W. B. Act XII of 1957). (2) The Prisoners Act, 1900 (3 of 1900), as amended by the Prisoners (West Bengal Amendment) Act, 1955 (W. B. Act XIIl of 1955). (3) The Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 (4 of 1912). (4) The West Bengal Children Act,1959 (W. B. Act XXX of 1959). (5) The Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948). (6) The Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1950 (29 of 1950). (7) The Prisoners (Attendance in Courts) Act, 1955 (32 of 1955). Those provisions of the Civil Procedure Code,1908 (5 of 1908), the Criminal Procedure Code,1898 (5 of 1898) and the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) which relate to the confinement of prisoners, the execution of sentences, appeals, lunatics and the like, must also be complied with in connection with the prison administration. NOTE.—All the above Acts, except the codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Penal Code, are printed in Volume II of this Code. CHAPTER II 2. The different jails in the State are classified as follows :–– CIassification of Jails. (i) Central Jails for the confinement of prisoners sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for periods of one year and upwards. (i) District Jails at the headquarters of districts for the confinement of criminal and civil prisoners. 2 iii) Special( Jails for the confinement of such class or classes of prisoners as Government may decide. (iv) A Circle Jail is a Central Jail to which certain Jails and Subsidiary Jails filiated are af for the purpose of control of warder establishments of such jails. NOTE.—In the subdivisions as also at the head quarters of certain districts where there are no District Jails there are Subsidiary Jails for the confinement of criminal prisoners. Central Jails 3. The undermentioned jails are hereby declared by G. O. No. 1964-PJ. Government to be Central Jails : dt. 8-61929. G.O. No. 3683.HJ. dt (1) Presidency 16-9-37. G. O. No. 1261-HJ. (2) Alipore, dt. 20-5-49. (3) Midnapore, (4) Dum Dum and (5) Berhampore. All the above Central Jails function as District Jails as well and, therefore, receive prisoners of all classes. CIassification of 4. District Jails will be divided into four classes according District Jails. G.O. to the daily average number of prisoners under confinement during, No. 6514 P the previous year, viz., : dt. 16-12-12. First Class District Jails : Those which had during the previous year a daily average of 500 o prisoners. Second Class District Jails : Those which had during the previous year a daily average of not less and not more than 499 prisoners. Third Class DistrictJails : Those which had during the previous year a daily average of not less and not more than 299 prisoners. Fourth Class DistrictJails : Those which had during the previous year a daily average of not less than 150 prisoners. G. of I No. 217 The class of each District Jail will be determined every year in dt. 29-9-1908. the month of April by the Inspector-General in accordance with the G. of I No. 174 dt. 2-6-1909. average of the preceding calendar year. Whenever the status of a District Jail is changed under this rule from a lower to a higher class, the Inspector-General will have power to sanction the entertainment of the additional staff of warders necessitated by such change, provided that the financial grant under the head "Establishment" is not there by exceeds; 5. Deleted 6. Deleted. 3 7. Civil prisoners shall be kept separate from criminal prisoners. Segregation of Any part of a jail may be set apart for civil prisoners, provided Civil and Criminal that it admits of the complete isolation of civil from criminal prisoners. prisoners. 8. Deleted. Officers of 9. For every prison there shall be a Superintendent, a Medical prison, Section Officer (who may also be the Superintendent), a Medical 6, Act of IX Subordinate, a Jailor and such other officers as the State 1894. Government thinks necessary. 10. Deleted. 11. Deleted. 12. Deleted. 13. Deleted. 14. Deleted. 15. Deleted. 16. Deleted. 17. No permanent post shall be created without the sanction of Sanction required to entertain Government. Nor is the creation of any temporary post permissible establishment, without the order of Government, except as provided in rule 28. temporary or permanent. Extra Establishment 18. Whenever, for any sufficient reason, the Superintendent of Superintendent any jail considers it necessary to entertain any establishment in apply for entertaining excess of the sanctioned scale, he shall submit an application to establishment in the Inspector-General in West Bengal Jail Return No. 15 giving excess of the full, sanctioned particulars of all extra establishments already sanctioned sanctioned and details of the establishment on leave or otherwise scale. not available. As a general rule, except at fourth class district jails, Jail Circular No. the empioyment of extra warders for guarding condemned prisoners 38 of 1898 and under rule 983 or for keeping company with undertrial prisoners No. 18 of 1907. under rule 912 will not, unless for very strong reasons fully stated, Rule 1355. be permitted. In no case may the extra establishment be entertained without fresh sanction after the period for which sanction was given W.B.F. No. 5152. has expired. In case of serious illness of a prisoner requiring his G.O.No.3626- PJ. of 14-12 36. immediate removal to an outside hospital for treatment, when the previous sanction of the Inspector-General cannot be obtained, the Superintendent may, subject to immediate reference to the Inspector-General, entertain in anticipation of sanction such number of extra warders as he may consider necessary. 4 Appointment of 19. Extra warders sanctioned for short periods not exceeding extra warders. three months may be appointed by the Superintendent of the jail at which their services are needed; but if required for longer than three months, they shall be supplied by the Superintendent of the Circle Jail. The names of extra warders so supplied shall be included in the circle list and service register, and when their services are no longer required, they shall be retransferred to the Circle Jail, where they shall take their places in the warder grades, according to seniority of services (unless found in the mean time to be inefficient), and the least efficient of the warders shall be discharged. (See rule 447 regarding allotment of duty to extra warders). Appointment of 20. The appointment of extra staff under rules 912, 948, 983 extra staff without prior and 1258 in antisipation of the Inspector-General’s sanction must sanction to be invariably be reported to the Inspector-General at the time with a reported. full explanation of the necessity for this action. Rule 18. CHAPTER III––GENERAL SUPERVISION Section l––The Inspector-Generalf theState G Inspector- 21. An Inspector- General shall be appointed for the State of General of West Bengal. He shall exercise, subject to the orders of the State Prisons, Section 5, Government, general control and superintendent of all prisons Act IX, 1894. situated within the State. Control and 22. The general control and superintendence of jails in this State superintendence are vested in the Inspector-General, and all Magistrates and jail of jails by officers shall obey the orders issued by him in all matters relating Inspector- General. to the internal economy discipline, and management of jails. He Rule 72. shall ascertain that all rules and regulations relating to jails are Rules 44, 50. strictly enforced. Any infringement on the part of Magistrate or Superintendents of jails of the rules or of the orders of the Inspector- General, if continued after attention has been called to it, shall be brought by the Inspector-General to the notice of Government. Control of 23. He shall exercise full control over all expenditure in jails, Inspector- submitting annually to Government, through the Accountant- General over General, a budget of the amount of funds necessary for their expenditure in jails. maintenance, in such manner and at such time as may be required. All Jail 24. All monthly and other bills for jail expenses of every expenses to be description shall be submitted to and audited by him with the submitted to exception of–– Inspector- General for audit. (a) charges for public works which are regulated by the Public Works Department ; (b) charges for registers and forms supplied by the Forms Department ; and 5 (c) charges for medical stores supplied by the Central Medical Stores and District Reserve Stores under the Directorate of Health Services. 25. The Inspector-General has authority to sanction all ordinary Inspector General’s power to working expenses, either for manufactory or for general purposes, sanction within the limits of the budget grants except that in respect of expenditure. purchase of grain (including pulses) for diet of prisoners or of materials for manufactures, the purchase of more than 15 months requirements (including the stock in hand) shall not be made without the authority of Government. His powers of sanction in connection with Public Works are defined in Rules 1300 to 1302 and 1309. He may also sanction any other item of expenditure for which G.O.No.