Policy Evaluation: Comparison on Healthcare of the Rajasthan Prison Manual 2022 and Model Prison Manual, 2016

Prison as a community is not just a place for punishment. And in a community like any other, healthcare is an important human right for people. So, providing this healthcare to people of prison isn’t just a task done by the administration. If we look at the international standards like the UN's Mandela Rules and Bangkok Rules confirm the state's obligation to provide individuals who are behind bars with health care at least as good as the care provided in the community (a confirmation referred to as the principle of equivalence) . In accordance with Mandela Rule 24.1, individuals who are incarcerated "should enjoy the same standards of health care that are available in the community and should have access to necessary health care services free of charge without discrimination on the grounds of their legal status." States bear a particular duty of care to individuals who are incarcerated, since inmates in prisons have no other access to care and their environment is completely under state control.