THE WEST BENGAL JAIL CODE, PART 3

CHAPTER V––JAIL OFFICERS

Section I—Superintendent

69A. The Superintendent holds a key position in jail administration. Custody and guarding of the prisoners in his charge constitute part of his principal duties. But his responsibilities extend much further. The present day aim of jail administration is the reclamation of the criminal so that he may return to society as a reformed person, ready to take his share in its affairs. This objective should guide the Superintendent in the discharge of his duties, which will require imagination, tact, good temper

The position of the

Superintendent.

and a sympathetic approach to the problems of the prisoners in his charge as well as knowledge of the day-to-day administration of the jail. His conduct should be such as to inspire the subordinate jail staff to work in the same sprit.

Appointment of Superintendents of Central and District Jails.

G O. No. 2428-HJ. of 11-12-39.

Training of Superintendent.

  1. O. No. 365-TR. of 23-9-22.

Duties of the Superintendent. Rule 493. Secton 11, Act IX of 1894.

Rule 22. Rule 44.

Order by the Superintendent. Rules 78, 82, 385,

462, 784, 1114. W.B.F.No.4980.

  1. Superintendents of Central Jails and of District Jails shall be appointed by Government. The Chief Medical Officer of Health or the District Medical Officer may also be appointed as part-time Superintendent of District Jail.

NOTE—When an officer of another department is appointed part-time Superintendent of a District Jail, concurrence of the department concerned should be obtained by the Home ( Jails) Department.

  1. An officer who has not had previous service in the Jail Department shall, before he is placed in charge of a District or Central Jail as a whole-time Superintendent, undergo for a period of 6 months a course of training prescribed by the InspectorGeneral with the approval of Government. The period of training may, however, be reduced to 3 months in any individual case by Government on the recommendation of the Inspector-General.
  2. (1) Subject to the orders of the Inspector-General, the Superintendent shall manage the prison in all matters relating to discipline, labour, expenditure, punishment and
  • Subject to such general or special directions as may be given by Government, the Superintendent of a prison other than a Central Jail or a prison situated in the Presidency town of Kolkata shall obey all orders not inconsistent with the Prisons Act, 1894 or any rule thereunder which may be given respecting the prison by the District Magistrate, and shall report to the Inspector-General all such orders and the action taken thereon.
  • The Superintendent shall be responsible for the due carrying out of the rules of the Jail Code and the observance of the provisions of legislative enactments relating to prisons and prisoners and the execution of all sentences of prisoners committed to his charge.
  1. The Superintendent shall maintain a minute-book in Register No. 1 in which all orders or minutes made by him, other than orders on reports of the Deputy Superintendent or Jailor, shall be entered on the left-hand page. On the right-hand page the Jailor or other officer to whom such orders have been given, shall report how they have been carried out.
  2. A Superintendent of a Circle Jail may appoint or dismiss the Head Warders and Warders of his circle or any subordinate of his jail whose appointment does not rest with Government or the Inspector-General or the Director of Health The Superintendent of any jail may suspend any subordinate officer in case of serious misconduct, and, if necessary, appoint any person temporarily to perform the duties of any such officer or of any offcer who from illness or any other cause is unable to perform them. Subject to the procedure laid down in Rule 194 all such proceedings shall,except where the Superintendent is himself the appointing authority of the officer, be at once reported through the Inspector- General to the authority in whom the power of appointment of the officer is vested.
  3. The Superintendent of every jail shall hold an enquiry touching every offence reported to have been committed by a prisoner, and award punishment where necessary in accordance with the provisions of the rules in Chapter XIX of his He shall record with his own hand all orders for punishment, and shall see that the punishment is carried into effect, provided that, when required by these rules, the Medical Officer shall have previously certified that the prisoner to be punished is fit to undergo it.
  4. In respect of every punishment inflicted (including formal warning), entries shall be made in the Punishment Register 19 furnishing all particulars required by section 51(1 ) of Act IX of 1894. In the case of every serious jail offence the names of the witnesses proving the offence shall be recorded. All orders for punishment for any offence shall be entered by the Superintendent in the prisoner’s history ticket; but the entries may be copied by a subordinate from the prisoner’s history ticket into the Punishment Register. Against the entries in the Punishment Register relating to each punishment the Superintendent and the Jailor shall affix their initials as evidence of the correctness of the entries.

The Punishment Register ( Register No. 19) shall be maintained in two parts, part I for convict and part II for under-trial prisoners.

  1. The Superintendent shall accompany the Inspector- General and the Board of Visitors on their Inspection of the jail and also, when desired to do so, the Magistrate of the district (or any officer acting on his behalf).
  2. He shall visit the jail  daily,  as  soon  after  sunrise as possible when his first duty shall be to release time- expired prisoners with due observance of the rules regarding return of their private property and the grant of subsistence allowance for the journey to their homes (see Rules 570 to

Appointment of Warders and Head Warders. Rules 294,106, 199.

Punishment awarded by the Superintendent to prisoners. Rules 706,

709, 552.

Entries in the Punishment Register. Rule 734. W.B.F. No. 4997.

G.O. No. 3362-HJ. of 17.9.52.

Superintendent to accompany l.G., and Board of Visitors at the time of their jail visit. G.O. No. 8493-RJ. of 16.9.22.

Superintendent to visit the jail daily. Rules 462, 73, 1189,

742.

Parade of Prisoners.

Maintenance of records by Superintendent. Section 12, Act IX of 1894. Rules 542,734.

Rules 61, 543.

Employment of Warders as Orderlies by Superintendents.

G.O. No. 11907- RJ. of 19~11-26. G.O.No. 1608-HJ. of 15-5-41.

G.O. No. 3356-HJ. of 7- 11-55.

Superintendent to prescribe division of labour for each subordinate.

Rules 73, 274, 281,

262,1313.

580). A whole-time Superintendent shall also visit the jail in the afternoon. If a Superintendent is unable for sickness or any other cause to visit the jail on any week day, he shall record the fact of his absence and the cause thereof in his minute book on the date of his next visit to the jail. He shall inspect the whole jail premises at least once a week. He shall see every prisoner confined in a cell daily.

  1. At least once a week, he shall hold a parade of all the prisoners in accordance with the instructions in Rule 646.
  2. The Superintendent shall keep, or cause to be kept, the following records :
  • a register of prisoners admitted;
  • a book showing when each prisoner is to be released;
  • a punishment book for the entry of the punishments inflicted on prisoners for prison offences;
  • a visitors’ book for the entry of any observations made by the visitors touching any matters connected with the administration of the prison ;
  • a record of the money and other articles taken from prisoners; and all such other records as may be prescribed by rules under section 59 of Act IX of 1894.
  1. He shall, as a rule, transact jail business on the jail premises, and shall not, except in cases of necessity, require the attendance of the Jailor, Deputy Jailor or Jail Clerk at any place beyond jail precincts.

Whole-time Superintendents of Central Jails may appoint two warders to be their orderlies and whole-time Superintendents of District Jails one. In Central and District Jails a warder may be deputed by the written order of the Superintendent to work as a Jail messenger, but such warder shall not be employed at the house of any officer.

No Warder shall remain on orderly duty for more than two years.

  1. The Superintendent shall prescribe in writing (or see that this has been done) in his minute-book the division of labour allotted to each of his subordinates, especially to those employed in the jail office, so that the responsibility for errors in the jail records, and for any other dereliction of duty, may be fixed with precision and without In district jails it should be specifically stated what office work the Jailor, the Deputy Jailor and the Jail Clerk shall respectively perform; but no such order shall relieve a

Jailor of the responsibility of ensuring that the work in the jail office whether done by himself or by his assistants, is properly and punctually conducted.

  1. The Superintendent shall submit punctually to the Inspector- General all such yearly and other returns, statements, bills and vouchers as, from time to time, may be prescribed. As soon as possible after the close of each year, and not later than the 31st January, he shall furnish the Inspector-General with a report, in which all matters of importance relating to jail satistics and administration for the year shall be noticed. He shall be generally responsible for the due carrying out of all rules relating to account books and records of all kinds. The annual report, in the case of a district jail, shall be submitted through the Magistrate, who shall forward it to the Inspector-General with such observations as he may consider
  2. He shall forthwith report to the Inspector-General, all serious breaches of jail discipline, escapes, recaptures, suicides, deaths or serious injury to prisoners from accidental causes, and any outbreak of epidemic disease or unusual sickness and the measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

84A. The death of a prisoner of foreign nationality, with details of his parentage and previous residence, if known, shall be reported by the Superintendent of the Jail to the Magistrate of the district or, in the case of the Presidency Jail to the Commissioner of Police. A similar report shall also be submitted to Government for communication to the High Commissioner or the Council, as the case may be, of the country to which the deceased foreign national belonged. Report of death in jail or British soldiers convicted by Civil Courts in India shall be sent to the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, for communication to the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in India. Deaths occurring in jails of ex-Army, ex-Naval and ex-Air Force personnel shall be reported to the authorities mentioned below :

Ex-Army Personnel : Adjutant-General, Army Head Quarters, New Delhi.

Ex-Naval  Personnel  Officers :  Staff   Officer,  (Naval

Submission of returns and annual report

by the Superintendent.

Superintendent

to report to the I.G. serious breaches of discipline,

escape of prisoners, etc. Rules 492, 806.

Death of ex-Military

prisoners of foreign nationality to be reported.

Rules 99, 259. Government of India, Ministry

of Ext. Affairs, letter No.

  1. 66-38-GII-49 of 28-11-49.

Government of India, Ministry. of Defence letters No.

49016-AG-PS-I-362-

27-9-49 and No.

appointments), Naval Head Quarters, SN-De6w(a),Delhi.

4732-D (N-ll) of 22/

Ratings : Captain, Indian Naval Barracks, Bombay. Ex-Air Force Personnel :

ficers : D(iare) cOtof rate of Personnel, Air Head Quarters,

New Delhi.

(b) Air Men : I.A.F. Records Office, New Delhi.

24-8-55.

Security of cash registers and verification of cash balances by the Superintendent.

  1. O. No. 2446-PJ. of 23-6-31.

G.O. No. 853-HJ. of 17-3-41.

Annual purchase and storage of grains required for prisoners’ consump- tion.

Rule 1121.

Superintendent to make annual and half-yearly verification of stock and plant.

Rule 1380.

G.O. No. 290-PJ. of 29-1-30 &

  1. O. No. 775-PJ. of 14-3-30

and No. 1959-HJ. of 29-7-54.

  1. He shall keep a constant and careful watch over jail receipts and expenditure; he shall promote all possible economy in every department and carefully examine all demands and indents before sanctioning, or submitting them for sanction; he shall frequently satisfy himself that the registers and books are written up; that cash balances correspond with those entered in the books ; that daily entries are made in the day-books and that outstanding dues are not allowed to remain unrealised.

He shall see that the cash book is closed and balanced each day and verify the balance of each column with the balance of cash in hand at the end of the month. On the last working day of the month after the cash account is closed or on the first working day of the following month before any disbursement is made he shall count the cash in hand record in the cash book a certificate of verification over his signature showing therein the date of such verification and the amount (in words) found. He shall be held responsible for any defalcations on the part of the jail establishment if it be shown that such defalcations were rendered possible by neglect on his part of this or any other rule laid down for his guidance.

  1. He shall see that at the proper season, when grain is cheapest, a sufficient quantity of each kind of grain required for prisoners’ consumption is stored for use until the next season for annual storage and for three months after, so that it shall not be necessary to issue new grain; that proper arrangements are made for storage and preservation of the grain; that the grain so stored is of good and wholesome quality and obtained in the cheapest market. He shall also satisfy himself by frequent inspection of the accounts and of the prisoners’ food before and after cooking, and by weighment of the food after distribution, that the prisoners obtained their full rations properly cooked.
  2. He shall every six months, as soon as possible after the 15th June and 15th December of each year, examine all stores, machinery, plant, tools, raw materials, manufactured articles, live and dead stock appertaining to the jail and satisfy himself that he has on the premises stock and plant equivalent to the balances shown in the accounts on those dates. At the close of the year this examination shall include counting, measurement, or weighment of all stock such susceptible of such action. On the first July and 31st December he shall submit to the Inspector- General certificates in Returns Nos. 5 and 6, showing the result of his examination.

Before arranging for fresh stock of any kind he shall scrutinise the existing stock and consider the future needs in order to prevent overstocking. His half-yearly examination shall accordingly include also a definite enquiry whether there is a surplus stock under any head. Should there be such surplus stock which is not likely to be

consumed before deteriorating, it shall be disposed of without undue delay. He shall also see at his half-yearly examination whether there are any unserviceable articles and arrange for their disposal or write-off. In submitting such cases for the requisite sanction of the Inspector-General, the Superintendent shall forward a statement showing details of the surplus or unserviceable stock with there value. He shall also frequently inspect all stock and other property of Government in the jail. He shall record a certificate in the sub- joined form in the relevent stock account books furnishing the results of physical verification of stocks carried out by him or by the Travelling Auditor.

Form of Certificate

Certified that the stock(s) of the article(s) was/were physically verified by     and the discrepancy/ies in stock(s) vis-a-vis the

book balance(s) has/have been/are being adjusted under proper sanction in the stock account(s) as indicated below.

Article         Actual        Book Excess or Value of Reference
quantity    balance deficit excess or to sanction
in stock.   deficit. for
      adjustment.

Superintendent.

87A. Superintendents shall encourage participation by warders in athletic sports and games so as to promote physical fitness and esprit de corps.

  1. On change of Superintendents, the relieving officer shall, before taking over charge, satisfy himself that the cash balances, permanent advance, and accounts are correct; also as far as possible, that all stock (both general and manufactory), machinery, plant and tools shown by the accounts to be in stock, are forthcoming; that the registers have been written up to date; and that sanction has been obtained for all the establishment employed; and shall report to the Inspector-General that he has done The responsibility of the relieved officer shall not cease till this is done.

88A. On requisition in writing by the Medical Officer, the Superintendent may purchase medicines from the local market up to  a limit of  Rs. 100 in each case. Before sending the requisition the Medical Officer shall record in his Minute Book that the medicines are actually required and  are  not  available in the Stores of  the Directorate of

Superintendent to encourage warders to take part in sports and games.

G.O. No. 1684-HJ. of 24-8-48.

Duties of relieved and relieving Superintendents.

W.B.J.F. No. 83.

Local purchase of medicines. G.O.No.1680-HJ. of l9-9-56.

G.O. No 2505-H.J. of 29~8-58.

Medical Officer to be in-charge of sanitary administration of the Jail.

Sec. 13, Act. IX of 1894.

G.O. No. Medl. 1014 of 8-2-55,

and G.O. No. 1922-H.J.

of 23-6-55.

Superintendent, if also a Medical

Officer, to be Medical Officer of the jail.

Senior Medl. Subordinate to act as

M.O. during the latter’s absence. See 62, Act IX of 1894.

Medical Officer to maintain Minute Book.

Health Services. He shall also certify to this effect on the body of the bill and voucher or cash memo. relating to the purchase. As far as possible, local purchases shall be made from the manufacturers or their agents. But the total puchase of medicine from the local market must not exceed Rs. 500 in a month without the specific sanction of the Inspector-General, West Bengal.

Vouchers signed by the Medical Officer for medicines purchased locally, shall be submitted with the contingent bill.

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