The Kerala High Court has directed the State government not to proceed with the shifting of the Women Prison and Correctional Home at Attakulangara to the Central Prison and Correctional Home, Poojappura, without further orders from the court.
A High Court Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the order on a petition by Sakhi Women’s Resource Centre, a not-for-profit rights-based organisation based in Thiruvananthapuram.
The court has posted the case for June 23.
In October last year, the then Left Democratic Front government had given the nod for relocation of the Attakulangara women prison to the old block of the Poojappura Central Prison.
According to the government order issued then, the move was in line with plans to set up another high-level prison in the southern region of the State.
As per the order, the existing women’s prison would be transformed into a temporary special sub-jail, capable of housing up to 300 inmates, subject to the condition that it would be merged with the new prison once it is established.
The move had sparked concerns over the welfare of women prisoners. Prisoners and jail officials alleged that the old women’s block at Central Prison could not accommodate even half the women prisoners from Attakulangara. The prisoners often included pregnant women, those with children, women with chronic health issues, and those with mental health issues. The prisoners expressed concern over the prospect of being confined to an old block that had no facilities for their physical or mental well-being.
According to Sakhi, the Attakulangara women’s jail is one of the only three institutions for accommodating women offenders and remand/undertrial prisoners in the State and one of the 31 exclusive women jails in India.
Challenges and hardships
The prison, it said, had been developed to meet the distinct needs of women prisoners such as adequate space and facilities for children residing with their mothers, provision for vocational training and rehabilitation programmes, and easy accessibility for relatives, lawyers, and social workers to visit the prisoners. These considerations would be seriously affected if the women’s prison was shifted to Poojappura. The move would not only disrupt ongoing rehabilitation efforts but also create emotional and logistical hardships for the women inmates and their families.
The District Legal Services Authority had submitted a report to the court on the matter.
Published – June 03, 2026 10:03 pm IST
