Consider allowing conjugal visits for inmates: Madras HC judge to state

Madras High Court judge, Justice S M Subramaniam has asked the Tamil Nadu government to consider permitting conjugal visits for prison inmates across the state, reported Bar & Bench on Saturday.

Justice Subramaniam directed the state to consider a scheme similar to what is being implemented in Punjab, where low prison inmates are allowed conjugal visits for fixed hours, once every two months.

Conjugal visits in the context of prisons refer to the concept of permitting an inmate to spend time in privacy with his or her spouse, within the prison premises, thus allowing for physical intimacy and procreation.

While some courts, including the Madras High Court have in the past, granted parole to inmates on the grounds of conjugal rights, in September 2022, the State of Punjab implemented a system of allowing an inmate conjugal visits within the prison premises.

The guidelines issued by the Punjab government though, clarify that conjugal visits cannot be claimed as a right. The state allows visits by spouses for two hours once every two months and the visiting spouse is required to furnish a valid ID, proof of marriage and a medical certificate declaring that he or she does not have HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease.

“Government of Tamil Nadu is requested to consider implementation of the scheme for extending ‘conjugal rights’ to the prisoners, which is effectively in force in the State of Punjab and Haryana,” Justice Subramaniam said in an official communication sent to the state authorities on July 25 following a ‘surprise inspection’ he conducted in the Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai.