States urged to submit action-taken reports on implementation of recommendations within two months
New Delhi, October 2026: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued guidelines to all states and Union Territories to protect the human rights of women prisoners and their children. The Commission has urged nine Union ministries, the chief secretaries of all states, administrators of Union Territories and the concerned Directors General of Police to take necessary action to ensure effective implementation of the guidelines. They have also been asked to submit action-taken reports on the implementation of the recommendations within two months.
The Commission has emphasised the need for a sensitive and gender-equal approach to protecting the rights of women prisoners and children who either live with their mothers in prison or stay separately from them.
It has stressed the importance of humane conditions in prisons, adequate healthcare facilities for mothers and children, mental health services, access to justice, preservation of family ties, protection of the best interests of children, and the rehabilitation and social reintegration of women prisoners.
The guidelines cover measures across ten key areas. These include arrest and prison admission procedures; registration and documentation; healthcare and medical services; sanitation and accommodation; protection of children living with women prisoners; contact and visits with family members; prison administration; legal aid and judicial proceedings; necessary facilities during court hearings; rehabilitation and social reintegration after release; and issues relating to foreign women prisoners.
The National Human Rights Commission has urged the concerned authorities to take the necessary steps in accordance with these guidelines and submit action-taken reports within two months to ensure effective protection of the human rights of women prisoners and their children.
