Question map
Consider the following statements : Statement-I : In India, prisons are managed by State Governments with their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons. Statement-II : In India, prisons are governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 which expressly kept the subject of prisons in the control of Provincial Governments. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 1. Both statements are correct, and Statement-II provides the historical and legal foundation for Statement-I.
Statement-I is correct: Under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, 'Prisons' and 'persons detained therein' fall under Entry 4 of the State List. Consequently, State Governments possess the exclusive power to manage prisons and formulate their own Prison Manuals, rules, and regulations for daily administration.
Statement-II is correct: The Prisons Act of 1894 is the primary central legislation governing management in India. Historically, this Act placed prisons under the control of Provincial Governments. This legal framework was later carried forward into the constitutional era, reinforcing the decentralization of prison administration.
Connection: Statement-II explains the legal origin of the administrative autonomy mentioned in Statement-I. Since the 1894 Act vested control in Provincial (now State) Governments, it directly explains why states today manage prisons with their own specific rules.
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis question is a classic 'Static-Current Hybrid'. The trigger was the 'Model Prisons Act, 2023' news replacing the colonial law. The strategy is simple: When a major colonial law is in the news for repeal/amendment, you must know the *original* law's jurisdiction and basic structure.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Are prisons in India managed by State Governments rather than by the central government?
- Statement 2: Do State Governments in India have their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons in their states?
- Statement 3: Does the Prisons Act, 1894 govern the law relating to prisons in India?
- Statement 4: Does the Prisons Act, 1894 expressly place control of prisons with Provincial Governments (provincial/state authorities)?
- Explicitly locates prisons under Entry 4, List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule, indicating state-level legislative competence.
- States and Union Territories have their own legislative frameworks for operating correctional institutions, implying management lies with them.
- Describes the Central Government's role as issuing model laws and guidance (MPM 2016, MPA 2023) to guide the States, implying that actual implementation/management is by States.
- Framing these as 'steps by the Central Government to guide the States' shows the central government provides direction rather than direct management.
- Notes a central-drafted jail manual was 'accepted by the Central government and circulated to State governments', indicating the centre issues guidance while States are the recipients/implementers.
- Reference to Supreme Court direction to prepare a uniform manual but circulation to States implies management and action rest with State governments.
Explains that the federation has separate Central Services and State Services, with many functions administered by state governments.
A student could check whether prison administration is listed among State Services or appears in the Constitution's State List to infer state management.
Reiterates the pattern that many public functions are handled by State Services while All‑India services serve both levels.
Using this pattern, a student could ask whether prison staff belong to State Services or All‑India/Central Services to judge which government manages prisons.
Notes that the Constitution allocates subject‑matter powers among Centre and States and that Parliament can sometimes legislate on state subjects — showing how administrative responsibility usually follows constitutional lists.
A student could consult the constitutional division of subjects (Union/State/Concurrent Lists) to see where prison administration appears.
States that the constitution clearly lays down powers of different government levels and calls regional governments 'State Governments', implying many local administrative functions are assigned to states.
Apply this principle by looking up whether prisons are treated as a regional/local administrative function and therefore assigned to State Governments.
Describes Central Services as under exclusive central jurisdiction and specialized technical roles — implying routine law-and-order or custodial functions might instead fall under state control.
A student could identify whether prison personnel are recruited under Central Services or under State Services to infer managerial responsibility.
- Directly states that State governments have their own rules for day-to-day prison administration.
- Specifies these rules cover upkeep and maintenance of prisoners and prescribing procedures.
- Explicitly assigns primary role and authority to States to change prison laws, rules and regulations.
- Supports the idea that prison regulation is principally a state responsibility.
- States generally have their own prison legislations, indicating state-specific rules.
- Notes variation across states, with some still following the older Prisons Act, showing state-level differences.
Explicit example: the snippet states 'State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules', showing that at least one class of prison-related rules is made by states.
A student could generalize from parole rules to other operational prison rules and then check individual state prison manuals or rules to test whether states issue broader prison regulations.
Explains that states have their own executive (governor, chief minister, council of ministers) under Part VI, implying states carry out internal administration through their executive organs.
Combine this with the idea that day-to-day prison administration is an internal/state executive function and examine state executive notifications or departments (e.g., prisons/home) for state-level rules.
States are described as distinct levels of government with powers 'clearly laid down' by the Constitution, illustrating the federal principle that different levels can have separate responsibilities.
Use the federal division-of-powers idea to infer that matters of internal administration (like prisons) might fall to state governments and then verify via state lists of subjects or laws.
Contrast with Union Territories: the table points out UTs are under direct central control while states 'have autonomy' and varied administrative set-ups, suggesting states can frame their own administrative rules.
A student could contrast state prison rules with central control in UTs (where central rules might apply) to see whether states indeed have distinct prison regulations.
Historical/legal example: references to Bengal State Prisoners Regulation of 1818 and other regional detention laws show precedents of region/state-level prison/detention regulations.
Use these historical examples as a pattern that regional authorities can enact prison-related laws and then look for contemporary state statutes or rules on prison administration.
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- Official government source names the statute and its territorial extent.
- Shows the Act is titled 'The Prisons Act, 1894' and applies to India (with specified exceptions).
- Explicitly states that the Prisons Act, 1894 is the current law governing prison management and administration in India.
- Directly ties the Act to governance of prisons in India.
- Repeats that the Prisons Act, 1894 forms the basis for present jail management and administration in India.
- Supports the claim that the Act governs prison law and practice.
States have their own 'Prisoners Release on Parole Rules', indicating prison administration/regulation is exercised at state level as well as by other laws.
A student could check the constitutional distribution of 'prisons' (State List) and infer that a central 1894 Act may not be the only or exclusive source of prison law today.
References to historical colonial-era prison regulations (Bengal State Prisoners Regulation 1818) show a pattern of prison law originating in colonial statutes.
One could reasonably suspect the existence of other colonial prison statutes (like an 1894 Act) and then look up whether such an Act was retained, amended, or superseded post-independence.
Notes that preventive/detention laws were present in British India and continued into modern statutes, demonstrating continuity and replacement patterns for colonial laws.
Use this pattern (colonial laws being continued, replaced, or re-enacted) to investigate whether the Prisons Act, 1894 was retained, amended, or replaced by later central or state legislation.
Shows Parliament enacted the Preventive Detention Act, 1950, illustrating that the central legislature creates post-independence laws on detention/prison-related matters.
A student could check whether Parliament enacted or amended prison law after 1894 (e.g., 1950s onwards) which might alter the role of an 1894 Act.
Mentions the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 as an example of a colonial 1894 statute that continued relevance, showing that statutes from 1894 can be enduring central laws.
This suggests a plausible hypothesis that a Prisons Act of 1894 (if it exists) might similarly have been a central colonial statute; the student could then check whether it remains in force or has been superseded.
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- States frame prison-related rules under powers given by the Prisons Act, 1894, indicating rule-making/control at the state level.
- Provides concrete examples (e.g., Rajasthan Prison Rules) showing State Governments exercising those powers.
- Explicitly states that State Governments 'have the primary role, responsibility and authority' to change prison laws, rules and regulations.
- Lists the Prisons Act, 1894 among statutes bearing on prison regulation, linking the Act to state-level authority.
- Identifies prisons as falling under Entry 4, List II of the Seventh Schedule (state list), meaning States/UTs have legislative authority over prisons.
- States that every State/UT has its own legislative framework governing operation of correctional institutions.
States that provincial subjects were divided and that 'prisons' was listed among reserved provincial subjects, implying prisons were treated as a provincial-level subject in later administrative lists.
A student could check statutory lists or the original Prisons Act text to see whether the Act delegates administration to provinces consistent with this categorization.
Repeats the point that the Act (here the Government of India Act context) placed 'prisons' under provincial subjects, showing a pattern of treating prisons as within provincial competence.
Use this pattern to hypothesize that imperial/local prison administration was expected to be handled by provincial authorities and then verify the Prisons Act wording.
Describes 19th-century administrative practice of giving provincial governments control over services including Police and Jails; shows historical precedent for provincial administration of prisons.
Combine this administrative history with the Prisons Act date (1894) to infer likely alignment of the Act with provincial administration and then check the Act's provisions.
Explains that later constitutional arrangements divided powers into lists (Federal, Provincial, Concurrent) and granted provinces autonomous administration in their spheres — a general rule about allocation of subjects.
Use the list-based rule to look up whether 'prisons' appears on a provincial list or was retained centrally at the time of the 1894 Act.
Notes financial decentralisation and transfer of certain administrative departments (education, medical, roads) to provinces and mentions transfer of departments like jails in context of provincial finances, showing institutional trend.
A student can take this trend as supporting evidence that jail administration was commonly a provincial function and then inspect the Prisons Act for explicit assignment of control.
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- [THE VERDICT]: Sitter for serious aspirants. The 'Prisons = State List' fact is standard Polity, and the 1894 Act was heavily discussed in 2022-23 editorials.
- [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) releasing the 'Model Prisons Act, 2023' to replace the 'Prisons Act, 1894'.
- [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Memorize the Jurisdiction of related machinery: Police & Public Order (State List, Entry 1 & 2), Prisons (State List, Entry 4), Criminal Law & Procedure (Concurrent List, Entry 1 & 2), Preventive Detention (Concurrent List, Entry 3).
- [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: When reading about a 'New Bill', always profile the 'Old Act' it replaces. Ask: Was the old act Central or Provincial? Why is it being replaced? (Answer: It was retributive, not reformative).
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Allocation of subjects between Union and State determines whether institutions like prisons fall under state or central jurisdiction.
High-yield for UPSC because many polity questions require identifying which level of government has legislative and administrative authority; links directly to federalism, centre-state disputes, and governance case studies. Mastery helps answer questions on law-and-order, public institutions, and constitutional remedies.
- Democratic Politics-II. Political Science-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 1: Power-sharing > Forms of power-sharing > p. 9
- Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: FEDERALISM > FEDERALISM WITH A STRONG CENTRAL GOVERNMENT > p. 161
Understanding which cadres are controlled by the Centre or the State clarifies who manages personnel in institutions related to law and order and prison administration.
Essential for UPSC mains and interviews: explains recruitment, control and service allocation across levels of government; connects to administrative control, intergovernmental coordination, and accountability issues in public institutions.
- Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 15: Centre-State Relations > El l AtI~lndia Services > p. 150
- Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 74: Public Services > Central Services > p. 546
Central financial powers and planning authority affect the capacity of states to administer sectors and institutions that may otherwise be state responsibilities.
Important for answering questions on fiscal federalism, implementation gaps, and policy outcomes; helps link constitutional distribution of functions with practical resource constraints and cooperative mechanisms between levels of government.
- Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: FEDERALISM > FEDERALISM WITH A STRONG CENTRAL GOVERNMENT > p. 161
- Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 15: Centre-State Relations > Punchhi Commission > p. 164
Vertical division of power assigns distinct responsibilities to higher and lower levels of government, directly relating to whether a state can make its own administrative rules.
High-yield for UPSC because questions often test centre–state relations and allocation of subjects; mastering this helps answer questions on which level of government can legislate or administer specific functions and links to constitutional federalism topics.
- Democratic Politics-II. Political Science-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 1: Power-sharing > Forms of power-sharing > p. 9
The state executive (governor, chief minister, council of ministers) is the constitutional organ responsible for state administration and therefore for implementing state-level rules.
Important for administrative and polity questions about how state governments function; understanding the composition and role of the state executive helps analyze state-level rule-making and implementation in governance-related questions.
- Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 30: Governor > Governor > p. 313
The constitutional definition of 'State' includes government and legislature of states and local authorities, clarifying which bodies are responsible for rights and administration.
Crucial for answering questions on responsibility and accountability in fundamental rights and administrative actions; links constitutional definitions to practical governance and centre–state issues.
- Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 8: Fundamental Rights > DEFINITION OF STATE > p. 77
Preventive detention in India has colonial antecedents like the Bengal State Prisoners Regulation of 1818 and was later embodied in statutes such as the Preventive Detention Act, 1950.
High-yield for UPSC questions on civil liberties and constitutional law: connects colonial legal history to contemporary statutes and fundamental rights. Mastering this helps answer questions on detention without trial, continuity of colonial laws, and legislative responses to security concerns.
- Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu (26th ed.). > Chapter 8: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES > When a person has been arrested under a law of preventive detention- > p. 135
- Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu (26th ed.). > Chapter 8: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES > INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA > p. 136
- Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 8: Fundamental Rights > El l Protection Against Arrest and Detention > p. 92
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The 'Preventive Detention' Trap: While 'Prisons' are exclusively a State subject, 'Preventive Detention' for reasons of state security is a Concurrent subject (Entry 3, List III). The Centre can and does legislate on detention (e.g., UAPA, NSA), unlike regular prison management.
Apply 'Administrative Feasibility' Logic. For Statement I: Could the Central Government in Delhi practically manage the 'day-to-day' roster of a sub-jail in a remote district? Impossible. Administrative logic dictates this must be a State/Local function.
Mains GS-2 (Federalism & Governance): This links to 'Fiscal Federalism'. States manage prisons, but lack funds for modernization. The Centre issues 'Model Manuals' (advisory) because it cannot constitutionally force prison reforms on States without a constitutional amendment.
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