Human Rights Behind Bars: Prisoners’ Rights in India and a Field Study of the Lucknow Jails

Human Rights Behind Bars: Prisoners’ Rights in India and a Field Study of the Lucknow Jails examines one of the most demanding questions in constitutional and human rights law: how far fundamental rights remain meaningful after a person enters prison. Beginning with the international human-rights framework, the book examines the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICCPR, Nelson Mandela Rules, Convention Against Torture and Bangkok Rules before turning to the Indian constitutional framework, including Articles 14, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 39A. It also traces the development of prisoners’ rights through important Supreme Court decisions concerning custodial dignity, legal aid, speedy trial and prison conditions. A distinctive feature of the book is its original field research conducted in three Lucknow prisons — District Jail, Adarsh Karagaar and Naari Bandi Niketan — in May 2025. Based on structured interviews with prisoners and staff, the study examines awareness of constitutional rights, legal aid, speedy trial, food, healthcare, wages, family contact and prison administration. The findings are presented through 24 charts and 39 anonymised individual custody records, providing an empirical picture of how legal guarantees operate inside correctional institutions. The concluding chapters focus on prison reform, judicial intervention and practical recommendations for improving custodial conditions and the protection of human dignity. Designed for students and teachers of constitutional and human rights law, legal practitioners, legal-aid professionals, prison administrators, researchers and policymakers, the book combines legal analysis with field-based evidence to examine the distance between rights promised by law and rights experienced behind bars.