The proceedings come in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court judgment directing all States and Union Territories to take concrete and time-bound steps to establish and expand Open Correctional Institutions (OCIs), while ensuring that existing open prisons and open-air camps are not reduced in size or capacity.
Taking note of the apex court’s directions, the Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar turned its attention to Goa’s prison infrastructure.
“The Supreme Court wants an open jail system in the States... Modern jail (referring to Colvale Jail) does not seem to have a modern mindset,” the Bench observed during the hearing. It also stated that as per the SC order, Goa will require a different area to set up OCI.
The court noted that while Goa has a modern prison facility at Colvale, it was not clear whether the State had moved towards the reformative framework envisaged by the SC.
“We understand that Colvale jail is not an open jail system,” the Bench said while asking the Inspector General of Prisons to place on record a detailed status report on the Colvale jail, including the total number of inmates, the split between undertrials and convicts, and the gradation of prisoners lodged there.
The Bench said these details would help the court better assess how an open correctional system could be introduced in Goa and what structural changes may be required.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on May 4.
The SC, in its March 2 ruling, had sharply criticised several States and Union Territories for failing to set up OCIs despite repeated judicial directions and the availability of policy frameworks under the Model Prison Manual, 2016 and the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023.
It was observed that in many States, prisoners were being kept in closed prisons for long periods ranging from four to 12 years, and in some cases up to 21 years before being considered for transfer to open facilities.
The court had also raised concerns over the limited nature of vocational training offered in many prisons, noting that rehabilitation programs often remained confined to agriculture and traditional labour.
Such an approach, it said, reduced open prisons to mere “agricultural camps” rather than institutions aimed at structured rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
