According to the Supreme Court-appointed committee investigating prison reforms, only correctional facilities in Goa, Delhi, and Puducherry permit female prisoners to have unrestricted visits with their children, without barriers or glass partitions. Additionally, it's noteworthy that fewer than 40% of prisons nationwide supply sanitary napkins to female inmates.

Furthermore, 75% of female sections within prisons are compelled to share kitchens and communal facilities with their male counterparts. These findings shed light on the current state of prison conditions in the country. 

“Women in incarceration suffer the brunt of imprisonment far worse than their male counterparts, especially with regard to access to basic facilities ranging from medical care and medical staff, legal aid and counsel, to paid labour and recreational facilities. These fundamentals are frequently denied to women who live in enclosures inside the larger setup of a prison facility as opposed to an exclusive women’s prison facility,” the report states.

Last week, the Supreme Court sought the views of the Centre and the states on the Justice Amitava Roy Committee report submitted on December 27, 2022, underlining that the correctional justice system is “evidently gender exclusionary”.

During the period from 2014 to 2019, there was an 11.7% rise in the number of female prisoners in Indian jails. By 2019, women constituted 4.2% of the total prison population. However, the report highlights a significant issue: only 18% of female inmates have access to dedicated women's prison facilities.

This is because only 15 states and Union Territories (UTs) have operational women's prisons. Furthermore, the report underscores that all categories of female prisoners, including undertrials and convicts, are housed together in the same wards and barracks, which presents its own set of challenges.

The report additionally highlights a deficiency in gender-specific training. It notes that matrons, who oversee female prisoners, have not received guidance on how to conduct searches of women. Moreover, the report points out that in only 10 states and 1 Union Territory (UT), women prisoners are permitted to file complaints against jail staff for any instances of abuse or harassment. These factors underscore the need for comprehensive reforms in the treatment and conditions of female prisoners in India.

The absence of separate medical and psychiatric wards for women, inadequate provision of "basic minimum facilities" for childbirth, and the shortage of healthcare professionals to address the specific health requirements of female prisoners are significant medical challenges.

Furthermore, it's worth noting that in 19 states and 6 Union Territories (UTs), prisons do not have psychiatric wards dedicated to women inmates. These shortcomings underscore the pressing need for improved healthcare and medical services within the prison system, particularly concerning female inmates.

To address these pressing concerns, the report puts forward several recommendations. These include the implementation of telemedicine facilities to enable remote diagnosis and virtual consultations for inmate healthcare, enhancing vocational training and educational programs within the prison system, and replacing imprisonment as a penalty for minor offenses with community service. Additionally, it suggests providing appropriate counseling and support for inmates dealing with psychological disorders. These measures aim to contribute to a more rehabilitative and humane approach to the criminal justice system.

In September 2018, the top court, while hearing the matter related to conditions prevailing in prisons across India, had constituted a three-member committee headed by former SC judge Justice Roy to look into issues involving jail reforms and make recommendations on several aspects, including overcrowding in prisons. Nearly two years later, the committee submitted its report.