THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 15, 2016- Topic 1
The overcrowding of prisons in the
country is a long-standing problem that is seldom addressed effectively. Even
though the Supreme Court has, from time to time, raised the issue of prison
reforms in general, and that of overcrowding in particular, measures to
decongest jails have been sporadic and half-hearted. The issue is once again in
the news, with the Supreme Court bemoaning that prisons in Delhi and nine
States have an occupancy rate of
150 per cent of their capacity. The average occupancy in all jails in the
country was 117.4 per cent, as of December 31, 2014. What makes the picture
bleaker is that there is little change even though the court has passed a
series of interim orders to the States on measures to decongest prisons. In
particular, the court had on February 5 and May 6 this year spelt out steps
that the authorities should take to reduce prison occupancy. Cramped conditions
in prison militate against the prisoner’s right to good health and dignity.
Further, as pointed out by the amicus
curiae in this case, an
excessive prison population creates problems of hygiene, sanitation, management
and discipline. Of equal concern are the available staff strength and the level
of training they receive.
It is unedifying to note that not one
State or Union Territory has bothered to prepare a plan of action, as directed
by the court five months ago, to reduce crowding and to augment infrastructure
so that more space is available to each prisoner. The court received some
information about proposals for constructing additional jails, but has found
that these are only ad hoc proposals, with no indication of either a time frame
or the resources provided for building these facilities. The court’s sense of
disquiet is understandable, as many States seem to ignore the obvious mismatch
between the extent to which they keep the law and order machinery active and
the space and resources provided for those jailed under such action. Last year,
it was found that a little over two-thirds of India’s prisoners were undertrials.
Poverty remains the main reason for this, as most prisoners are unable to
execute bail bonds or provide sureties. Since 2014, there is some effort to
invoke Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which undertrials who
have completed half of the maximum jail term specified for their offences may
be released on personal bonds. But much more needs to be done. Failing to
address the problem of crowded jails may prove costly for the administration of
criminal justice.
Vocabulary
Seldom: not often; rarely.
Example: Islay is seldom visited by tourists
Synonyms: rarely, infrequently, hardly (ever), scarcely (ever), almost
never
Decongest: relieve the congestion of (something).
Example: It will do nothing to reduce congestion or help business to undertake its
work by decongesting our roads.
Sporadic: occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or
isolated.
Example: Sporadic fighting broke out
Synonyms: occasional, infrequent, irregular, periodic, scattered, patchy, isolated
Bemoan: express discontent or sorrow over (something).
Example: Single women bemoaning the absence of men
Synonyms: lament, bewail, mourn, grieve over, sorrow over, regret, cry
over
Cramp: feeling or causing someone to feel uncomfortably confined or hemmed in by
lack of space.
Example: The staff had to work in cramped conditions
Synonyms: confined, uncomfortable, restricted, constricted, small, tiny
Augment: make (something) greater by adding to it; increase.
Example: He augmented his summer income by painting houses
Synonyms: increase, add to, supplement, build up, enlarge, expand, extend
Hygiene: conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing
disease, especially through cleanliness.
Example: Poor standards of food hygiene
Synonyms: cleanliness, sanitation, sterility, purity, disinfection, public
health
Disquiet: a feeling of anxiety or worry.
Example: Public disquiet about animal testing
Synonyms: unease, uneasiness, worry, anxiety, anxiousness, concern
Invoke: cite or appeal to (someone or something) as an authority for an action or
in support of an argument.
Example: The antiquated defense of insanity is rarely invoked today
Synonyms: cite, refer to, adduce, instance, resort to, have
recourse to