The Model Prison Manual of 2016 reform and rehabilitation programmes should be taken into consideration for implementation by the States, according to a Supreme Court directive.
The Ministry of Home Affairs-approved guidebook makes reference to prisoner education, which is essential for their entire growth. It also suggests other types of education, such as moral and spiritual education, health/hygiene education, and physical education like yoga.
"We do not have any material on record about how many States have adopted the 2016 Manual. We direct the States to consider implementing the reformative and rehabilitation programmes contained in the 2016 Manual. In addition, it is open to the States to adopt any other correctional measures." the court noted.
The bench took note of the following recommendation made in the ruling in Rajendra Prasad v. State of U.P. when it commuted a minor's death sentence to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole by bench comprising the Hon'ble VR Krishna Iyer.
"Social defence against murderers is best insured in the short run by caging them but in the long run, the real run, by transformation through re-orientation of the inner man by many methods including neuro-techniques of which we have a rich legacy. If the prison system will talk the native language, we have the yogic treasure to experiment with on high-strung, high-risk murder merchants. Neuroscience stands on the threshold of astounding discoveries. Yoga, in its many forms, seems to hold splendid answers. Meditational technology as a tool of criminology is a nascent-ancient methodology. The State must experiment. It is cheaper to hang than to heal, but Indian life — any human life — is too dear to be swung dead save in extreme circumstances."
The state of Maharashtra was then questioned by the court regarding the measures it had taken to reform and rehabilitate the prisoners. The state informed the court that it had previously sent out circulars announcing the beginning of yoga and meditation sessions for the benefit of the convicts' physical and mental well-being in the prisons. It stated that initiatives like "Prerna Path" encouraged inmates to participate in yoga programmes by inviting Shri Ram Dev Baba and others to Yerwada Central Prison in Pune.