The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has ordered the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 3 lakh to the family of a 33-year-old convict who died under suspicious circumstances, while lodged in Nashik Jail in 2016. The prisoner, serving a life sentence, had tested HIV positive shortly before his death. His family filed a custodial death complaint, alleging negligence by jail authorities in providing necessary medical treatment.
In a detailed 12-page order, Justice K.K. Tated and member Sanjay Kumar concluded that prison authorities had failed to provide adequate and timely medical care to the deceased, neglected medical advice, and disregarded mandatory procedures, such as HIV and TB testing, when the prisoner was first admitted.
According to the SHRC order, the father of the deceased prisoner filed the complaint in 2017, seeking an inquiry into his son’s death, which the family believes was preventable. The family argued that improper use of unsterile needles may have led to the prisoner contracting HIV.
Prison records, submitted by the Additional Director General of Police (Prison and Correctional Services), indicated that the prisoner had sought medical treatment from April 2014 onward for various ailments, including dermatitis, boils, fever, cough, fungal infections, and anemia. By June 2016, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to undergo further testing at J.J. Hospital in Mumbai. However, as his condition deteriorated en route, he was taken to Khardi Rural Hospital in Shahapur, Thane, where he was declared dead before reaching J.J. Hospital.
The deceased’s advocate argued that the delay in treatment, failure to follow medical advice, and non-compliance with standard health guidelines, including mandatory HIV testing on prison admission, led to a deterioration in the prisoner’s health and ultimately his death. The advocate also highlighted inadequate ambulance facilities during the prisoner’s transfer from Nashik to Mumbai, which may have contributed to his demise.
The SHRC noted that prison authorities ignored operational guidelines from the National AIDS Control Organisation, which mandate HIV testing upon prison admission. The commission’s order stated, “We have concluded that prison authorities failed to provide timely and proper treatment to the deceased, neglected doctors’ advice and recommendations, and did not comply with the mandatory HIV and TB tests before admitting the prisoner.”
