Bengaluru’s ‘jailhouse rock’ videos have kicked up a brouhaha. Even in the grim environs of the city’s central prison, inmates were filmed partying with liquor, music, and good food; some were using smartphones. Among them were a convicted serial rapist and a terror suspect. A few months earlier, videos had emerged of Sandalwood star Darshan Thogudeepa, accused of murdering his fan Renukaswamy, using a mobile phone while enjoying a cigarette and tea in the jail garden. In October 2024, convicts in another Karnataka jail were snapped making videocalls, posing for selfies, and smoking marijuana. Stung by criticism over the latest videos, the government transferred the top jail official and suspended two others. A high-level probe is on to identify who shot the videos, and how mobiles and liquor reached the prisoners. There is also fear of a major security breach, as a suspected ISIS recruiter had access to the internet. Home Minister G Parameshwara claims that despite having the mandate to deploy signal jammers and CCTVs, the jail authorities had failed to install them as required.
While privileges can be bought, breaches are not possible without the collusion of jail staff. Such transgressions are also not restricted to Karnataka’s prisons—the rot runs deep and wide. The prison system is but a microcosm of Indian society, with haves and have-nots. Convicted and undertrial politicians, godmen, and businessmen often claim superior amenities. Former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa’s aide V K Sasikala, while serving a four-year sentence in a Bengaluru jail, was given five cells and her own kitchen. Mining baron Janardhan Reddy, politicians Lalu Prasad and Suresh Kalmadi, Sahara chief Subrata Roy, godmen Asaram Bapu and Gurmeet Ram Rahim have all had access to food of their choice, private toilets, and comfortable bedding.
But the demeaning conditions of the have-nots cry for sweeping reforms. The 1,330 jails across the country house 5,73,220 prisoners, though they were designed for only 4,36,266. The Supreme Court’s Justice Vikram Nath recently reminded that seven out of 10 prisoners in India are yet to be convicted. Better use of technology can curb security breaches. Overcrowding can be reduced through reforms in legal aid and undertrial detention rules. But for now, the central and state governments should build more jails to ensure humane living conditions. Otherwise, the goal of reformative justice will continue to elude us.
