Appreciable step of Judicial system of India

Judicial system of India

Normally, if anyone is involved in any crime or any illegal activity in our country and if the person is proven guilty before the court, then the court would pronounce a punishment of imprisonment except if the case is of a minor.

Unless and until the person adjudicated has not completed his tenure of punishment, he would not be relieved from the tenure he needs to serve.

Initiatives have been taken by the judicial system of the country to ensure various activities are conducted for the prisoners during the tenure of their punishment and they get paid for the same.

The intent behind conducting such activities is to only change the thought process of such people and give them an opportunity to change their life. Also, the law provides for such punishment only because if the same is not penalized, it would set a bad example towards other people of the nation. Thus, every judgement of Court is always set around to give a message to the society and promote overall welfare of its citizens.

Through this article I wish to bring to your attention, the initiatives taken by Indian judicial system to make sure that the prisoners, once punished get another opportunity to lead a better life and they never commit such a crime again.

Appreciable Step of Rajasthan Government

Just imagine, someday you visit a petrol pump and you get to know that it is run by people who have been adjudged as prisoners before the Court, what would be your reaction?

India’s first petrol pump which is being now operated by prisoners is situated in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. It is an undertaking of Rajasthan Government.

The prison department of Jaipur took the initiative to start and operate this. Operating a petrol pump is not an easy task and therefore to ensure efficient and effective functioning of the same, necessary training was provided to all such people by Indian Oil Corporation. It is only because of an initiative like this that such prisoners have also got a chance to acquire a new skill and it has ultimately led to change in their mind set and would further bring them a good lifestyle.

Thus, it is not a punitive system. It can be instead termed as a correction mechanism. The only objective of Government behind starting and operating this is that when prisoners go back to the society, then integration and rehabilitation in the society should be very very seamless.

Use of revenue of the Petrol Pump operated by Jaipur Jail prisoners

At present, over 100 prisoners are working at fuel pumps built on jail premises at six locations across the state. Prisoners working at such petrol pump are trained and they receive ?249 per day salary that gets transferred to their bank accounts. Further, it was reported in one of the news articles that the

Jaipur petrol pump which is now operated by such prisoners registered a sale of ?1 crore in a month they were targeting on a sale of ?3 crore per month. It is being further said that Jaipur jail department would open up petrol pumps at 12 locations in the next phase.

Revenue generated by this platform will also be used for infrastructure development and it would further go to prison development board. Such an initiative would also enable the prisoners to make a living. It is to be noted that the Chairman of the board is Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr. Ashok Gehlot.

My experience after getting to know the initiative

I have seen few interviews of these prisoners and I could feel the change in their mindset. Thus, I truly feel that this initiative of govt. is really appreciable. 

Initiatives like thus will definitely change the thought process of people. In 2021, when the crime rate is still high, let us hope that at least these steps will change some people and give them a chance to lead a crime free life.