A plea has been brought before the Kerala High Court challenging the state government’s decision to shift the women’s prison and correctional home currently located at Attakulangara, in Thiruvananthapuram, into a block within the Poojappura Central Prison. The petition, filed by a women’s rights NGO, raises serious concerns over the impact of such relocation on the dignity, privacy, and welfare of female inmates, particularly vulnerable prisoners such as mothers with young children, foreign nationals, pregnant women, and those with special medical needs.
The government’s proposal to move the women inmates is part of a scheme to ease overcrowding in male prisons: by vacating Attakulangara, nearly 300 male inmates are expected to be transferred into that facility, while the women will be cramped into the Poojappura jail’s old women’s block. According to the petitioners, the Attakulangara prison now has only a few dozen inmates and significant capacity, making the decision to relocate appear less a necessity for female welfare and more a logistical rearrangement to accommodate male prisoners.
Opponents of the plan argue that the Poojappura block lacks adequate infrastructure. They point out that the new space has only a limited number of cells—far fewer than needed—and does not provide for units such as tailoring, vocational training, or other rehabilitative programs that currently operate at Attakulangara. Critics also highlight that the old women’s block at Poojappura is presently being used for non-cellular purposes, rendering it unfit to house inmates in a manner that preserves their dignity. They warn that the move could force women into crowded, insecure quarters lacking proper privacy, especially for those who are mothers, pregnant, or otherwise vulnerable.
The petitioners rely on constitutional protections under the right to equality and to life with dignity, arguing that shifting women from a women-only prison to a shared facility violates their fundamental rights. They contend that a prison block inside a central men’s jail cannot afford the same respect for personal space, physical segregation, and rehabilitative access as a dedicated facility. The NGO claims that the relocation plan fails to take into account gender-sensitive prison management.
On the other side, the state has justified the relocation as a response to severe congestion in its southern-zone prisons. The prison department argues that the central jail at Poojappura is operating well beyond its sanctioned capacity, and that redistributing inmates between women’s and men’s prisons will improve overall manageability. Authorities assert that the proposed women’s block at Poojappura can accommodate the inmates being shifted, and that relocating the women is a practical solution to systemic overcrowding.
Among those pressing the Court to intervene are former and current women prison staff. They claim that their concerns have not been adequately addressed. These personnel warn that without significant upgrades, moving inmates into a small block may lead to compromised living standards and potential security risks. Staff working at Attakulangara emphasize that the facility itself is better suited to women’s needs, having space, proper barracks, and existing vocational infrastructure that supports rehabilitation.
The Court has taken cognizance of these submissions and has adjourned further consideration of the petition for detailed hearing. In doing so, the High Court has underlined the need to balance prison-administrative exigencies with the constitutional obligations to maintain humane, gender-sensitive conditions in correctional facilities for women.
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