No one should be sent to jail: GN Saibaba

Former Delhi University professor and human rights activist GN Saibaba, who was jailed for his alleged links with the CPI Maoists, talks to reporters in Hyderabad on Friday. | Photo: NAGARA GOPAL

Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, who was acquitted of charges against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, described the horrors of prison during a media interaction organised by the Telangana State Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ) on Friday.

“Prison is a microcosm of the outside world, where all social evils are even more pronounced than outside,” he said in his very first media appearance after his release.

Caste discrimination in prison

“Caste discrimination is rampant in prison and jobs are allotted on the basis of the caste of the inmates. In fact, allotment of jobs on the basis of caste is also mentioned in the prison manual,” said Prof. Saibaba.

The amended Prison Act of 1894 allows “mild physical torture” as a means of controlling and disciplining prisoners. The only way to protest against such a system is through a hunger strike, and even that would be futile unless reinforced by voices outside the prison.

All prisoners beaten

All prisoners are beaten up for no reason on arrival under the pretext of mild torture. The only exceptions are gangsters, prominent politicians and “Naxalite cases,” the scientist said.

“When Anil Deshmukh visited me in prison as the Home Minister of the Congress-NCP coalition, I requested him for better conditions for prisoners. But he wanted to know what I wanted for myself. Later, he was imprisoned and experienced the conditions first hand,” said Prof. Saibaba.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and businessman Naresh Goyal also had similar experiences, and yet the conditions remain unchanged.

“After seeing all this, I believe no one should be sent to prison. Prison is a system that robs people of their worth,” he said.

He claimed that before his arrest, he was warned and threatened three times by a group of officials, including the Maharashtra Police, in relation to his campaign as head of the Forum Against War on the People against Operation Green Hunt.

“Hany Babu has done exceptional work in the field of linguistics and has not been involved in any activism except our collective struggle for implementation of reservation in Delhi University. He is now in jail and has almost lost his eyesight during the COVID period,” he said.

When asked about the loss of trust in the judiciary, he said that this was part of the collapse of all institutions and that even the courts were aware of this.

While the hunt for judges is being strictly punished by the judiciary, even uneducated prison inmates are discussing which judge would give a favourable decision, said Prof. Saibaba.

“They told me in which court my bail application would have a better chance. The general public views a judge as an individual and not a system. Everyone knows that court orders depend on the judges,” he said, describing how his bail applications were either rejected or never came up for hearing, and how the hearing on student activist Gulfisha Fatima's bail application was scheduled 65 times but never came up for hearing.