The prison act, 1894 regulate the law relating to administration of Prions in India. Among others provisions, it also provides the regulations for employment of prisoners in prison. This article is concerned only with those provisions of prison act which provides the law on employment of prisoners in prison.

Prison act, give responsibility to the following officers for the secure and proper administration of Prison, they also supervise the work of prisoners-

  1. Inspector General
  2. Superintendent
  3. Medical Officer and his subordinate medical officers
  4. Jailer
  5. Gate Keeper (subordinate to Jailer) 

Employment of civil prisoners.

Civil prisoners may, with the Superintendent’s permission, work and follow any trade or profession.

Earning of civil prisoners

Civil prisoners finding their own implements, and not maintained at the expense of the prison, shall be allowed to receive the whole of their earnings; but the earnings of such as are furnished with implements or are maintained at the expense of the prison shall be subject to a deduction, to be determined by the Superintendent, for the use of implements and the cost of maintenance.

Employment of criminal prisoners.

No criminal prisoner sentenced to labour or employed on labour at his own desire shall, except on an emergency with the sanction in writing of the Superintendent, be kept to labour for more than nine hours in any one day.

The Medical Officer shall from time to time examine the labouring prisoners while they are employed, and shall at least once in every fortnight cause to be recorded upon the history-ticket of each prisoner employed on labour the weight of such prisoner at the time.

When the Medical Officer is of opinion that the health of any prisoner suffers from employment on any kind or class of labour, such prisoner shall not be employed on that labour but shall be placed on such other kind or class of labour as the Medical Officer may consider suited for him.

Employment of criminal prisoners sentenced to simple imprisonment.

Provision shall be made by the Superintendent for the employment (as long as they so desire) of all criminal prisoners sentenced to simple imprisonment, but no prisoner not sentenced to rigorous imprisonment shall be punished for neglect of work excepting by such alteration in the scale of diet as may be established by the rules of the prison in the case of neglect of work by such a prisoner.

REFERENCE

Prison Act, 1894