Punjab rights panel seeks report on denial of medical care to HIV+ jail inmate
The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has directed the Superintendent of Kapurthala jail, to submit a detailed report regarding the alleged denial of medical care to an HIV positive inmate at the jail.
The incident, which dates back to August 2024, saw the prisoner allegedly left lying outside the prison for hours, awaiting medical assistance.
The PSHRC’s intervention follows a complaint from a Kapurthala-based advocate and human rights activist, who called on the commission to investigate the matter. The complaint claimed that an HIV positive prisoner was denied timely medical care by the jail administration and was left lying on the road outside the jail for four hours due to the unavailability of an ambulance.
In a prior directive on February 28, 2025, the Commission had ordered the District Magistrate (DM), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and the Superintendent of Kapurthala jail to investigate the allegations and submit an action taken report within four weeks. However, the authorities failed to submit the requested reports.
As a result, on April 23, 2025, the PSHRC issued another notice, instructing the DM, SSP and the Superintendent of Kapurthala jail to submit the required report within four weeks. The Commission further warned that if the reports were not provided, it would resort to invoking its coercive powers under Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. This section grants the National and State Human Rights Commissions the authority of a civil court in human rights inquiries. The PSHRC has set a deadline of May 31, 2025, for the submission of the additional report on the issue.
According to reports from a regional newspaper, the HIV positive prisoner, who was incarcerated for a murder case, had initially been taken to the Kapurthala Civil Hospital by his family on August 10, 2024, for treatment. He was subsequently referred to a hospital in Amritsar and later transferred to PGI Chandigarh for further care. On August 23, 2024, doctors at PGI informed the jail authorities and sent the inmate back to Kapurthala jail.
However, when the ambulance arrived at the jail at 8 pm, the prisoner was reportedly left lying on the road for several hours.
A video of the incident went viral on social media, showing the inmate’s wife fanning him and adjusting a plastic bag, seemingly used as a urine bag, while he lay on the road. Eventually, the prisoner was taken to Government Hospital Amritsar for treatment. The inmate, who remains an under trial in the murder case, is still undergoing medical treatment at the hospital.
Jalandhar