Solitary Confinement

Section 73 of Indian Penal Code provides regarding “Solitary Confinement”. Section 73 says -“Whenever any person is convicted of an offence for which under this code, the court has power to sentence him to rigorous imprisonment, the court may by it’s sentencer, order that the offender shall be kept in solitary confinement for any portion or portions of imprisonment to which he is sentenced not exceeding three months in the whole, according to following scale, that is to say –

a time not exceeding one month if the term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months

a time not exceeding two months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed six months and shall not exceed one year;

a time not exceeding three months if the term of imprisonment shall exceed one year.”Solitary confinement is isolation of prisoner from human intercourse and society. It causes a feeling of oppression. Prolonged isolation from human communion becomes intolerable and this feeling of loneliness gives him time to reflect upon utility of society.In Ramanjulu Naidu v. State, AIR 1947 Madras 381. It was observed that solitary confinement should not be ordered unless there are special features appearing in evidence such as extreme violence or brutality in the commission of offence. Section 745 of Code provide for limit of solitary confinement. It says –

“In executing a sentence of solitary confinement, such confinement shall in no case exceed fourteen days at a time with intervals between the periods of solitary confinement of no less duration than such periods, and when the imprisonment awarded shall exceed three months, the solitary confinement shall not exceed seven days in any one month of the whole imprisonment awarded with intervals between the periods of solitary confinement of not less duration than such periods.”

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