Sheela Barse Vs. State of Maharashtra

Case Name - Sheela Barse Vs. State of Maharashtra

Case Citation - 1983 SC 378

Parties Involved -

• Appellant - Sheela Barse

• Respondent - State of Maharashtra

Bench -

• Ranganath Misra

• C.J.

• M.M. Dutt

• Bhagwati P.N.

• Amarendra Nath.

• R.S. Sen

Relevant Acts and Sections -

• Article 14 of the Indian Constitution

• Article 19 of the Indian Constitution

• Article 21 of the Indian Constitution

• Article 32 of the Indian Constitution

• Article 39A of the Indian Constitution

Facts of the Case

• Sheela Barse, a journalist, wrote a letter to the Supreme Court of India, expressing her concern about the mistreatment of women incarcerated. She noted that 5 of the 15 women interviewed by her at Mumbai Central Jail complained of beatings and abuse by police. Her letter was considered a written request under Article 32 of the Constitution of India by the Supreme Court.

• At the same time, the Director of the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, was instructed to interview the women of Mumbai Central Jail without the presence of anyone else and to verify the allegations made in the written application. all allegations in the petition were true. Apart from this, there was no proper provision of legal aid for female prisoners.

Issues of the Case

1. Adequate safety and security of female prisoners in police custody and protection from torture and ill-treatment. That the current treatment infringes guaranteed rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India?

2. The state's obligation is to provide legal aid to all inmates in prisons and to the poor or inmates of the prison.

Report of Dr. (Miss) A.R.Desai

• The report highlights the need to improve prison conditions and locks.

• It also shows that there is not enough system in place to provide legal aid to female prisoners and the court considers it to be applicable to male prisoners as well.

• There was also the case of two foreign women prisoners detained at Bombay Central Jail, who were defrauded by their lawyer, Mohan Ajwani, who illegally stole about half of their goods and jewellery in the name of his payment.

• The Court appreciated the report and stated that it is a highly interesting, instructive socio-legal document, wonderfully thorough and perceptive report. Also expressed its gratitude to Dr.(Miss) A.R.Desai.

• The Court even instructed the Inspector General of Prisons, Maharashtra, for reviewing the report and make the necessary changes required.

Judgment of the Case

• The court ruled that legal aid should be provided to the poorest detainees as part of Article 14, Article 19 and Article 39 of the Constitution of India. She instructed the Social Workers to report on female prisoners, about the wrong treatment in prison.

• The Supreme Court had also issued a notice to the Prison Inspector for the ‘legal aid organization’ at the High Court and district levels. Apart from this, the Court also directed instructions to the Inspector General of Maharashtra Jail regarding the prisoners under whose notice the General Superintendent of Maharashtra would be issued:

  1. Submit a list of all prisoners and the charges against them. Details of men and women should be specified separately.

  2. A list must be submitted to the police regarding lawyers appointed by the prison population. This should be done so that prisoners know about their lawyers.

  3. Attorneys must be provided to meet with inmates.

• In addition, the Court issued guidelines to protect women prisoners incarcerated. They are like-

  1. There should be separate locks for female prisoners and should be guarded only by female police officers.

  2. Investigations of female prisoners should only be conducted in the presence of women police officers.

  3. The person must be notified of the reason for the arrest and the provision of bail.

  4. It is compulsory for a female suspect to be examined only by a female police officer (Section 160(1) of the CrPC).

  5. Esifazane Female prisoners cannot be detained after sundown and before sunrise.

Similar Cases

• Hussainara Khatoon v. the State of Bihar

• Bharati S. Khandhar v. Maruti Govind Jadhav

• Roshan Beevi v. Joint Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu

For a more simple understanding, refer to the article " Do Women And Men Have Different Rights When Arrested?" by clicking the button below.

Do Women And Men Have Different Rights When Arrested?