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<\/p>\nIn the backdrop of the recent deadly prison riots island-wide which have claimed the lives of both prisoners and officials, the increasing number of suicides reported among those within the criminal justice system, and the absence of substantial steps taken by the Government to implement prison reforms to ensure the mental health of prisoners including those recommended by local statutory human rights (HR) bodies, a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition was filed in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to obtain judicial directives for the implementation of the reform of the prison system and its conditions in connection with the mental health and related rights of all incarcerated persons in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
Petitioners <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The application SC\/FR\/114\/2026 was filed on 14 August of this year (2026). The petitioners are Ruwan Laknath Jayakody (also the first petitioner in the case SC\/FR\/270\/2019 which challenged the decision by the then Executive President to execute the death sentence imposed on those convicted of drug charges and thereby lift the moratorium imposed on the implementation of the same, and the first petitioner in the case SC\/FR\/228\/2020 which seeks the formulation of special legal rules and guidelines to govern the exercise of the power of pardon by the Executive President and ensure that it is exercised in a transparent and accountable manner, and following publicly disclosed, specified, objective criteria, while duly recognising the rights of victims), Dr. Mahesan Ganeshan (consultant psychiatrist), Mahboobdeen Fathima Sameera Farwin (psychologist and activist), and Rangoda Hettiarachchige Senaka Perera (attorney-at-law and the Chief Executive Officer of the Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners organisation). Counsel Swasthika Arulingam will be appearing for the petitioners on the instructions of attorney Ranitha Gnanarajah.<\/p>\n Respondents <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The Prisons Department (including the Acting Commissioner General, the Superintendent in Charge of the Officer Welfare Division of the Department Headquarters, and the Director of the Prisons Medical Health Services Division); the Police Department (including the Inspector General of Police); the Health Ministry, the Directorate of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (the subject Minister, the Ministry Secretary, the Director General of Health Services, and the Directors of the said Directorate and the NIMH); the Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists (including the President); the Justice Ministry (including the subject Minister and the Ministry Secretary); the Bureau of Rehabilitation (including the Chairperson of the Governing Council); the Finance Ministry (including the subject Minister and the Ministry\/Treasury Secretary); the HR Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) (including the Chairperson) (also, the HRCSL\u2019s December 2020 Prison Study is extensively quoted below); and the Attorney General (AG) (both in his capacity as the AG and on behalf of the President for acts committed by the latter in his official capacity), have been named as the respondents.<\/p>\n Issues raised in the petition <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The absence of standardised screening and continuous risk monitoring<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n No validated or standardised instrument is used to screen new entrants for suicide risk, the psychiatric history, or substance withdrawal. Existing “medical examinations” on admission are cursory, undocumented as to the mental state, and not repeated at intervals thereafter. Risk assessment must be continuous rather than a one-time event at admission, given that psychological distress in custody fluctuates in response to identifiable triggers, including adverse case outcomes, the denial of bail, disciplinary proceedings, and the transfer between institutions.<\/p>\n The failure to transfer medical and psychiatric records<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The repeated failure to transfer a prisoner’s medical and psychiatric records upon transfer between institutions has directly contributed to missed diagnoses, the denial of the continuity of medication, and documented suicides. A centralised, standardised medical record system, accessible to receiving institutions upon every transfer, is a minimum requirement.<\/p>\n The punitive response to self-harm and suicide attempts<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The practice of penalising self-harm and suicide attempts through punishment cells, the removal of clothing, and isolation, is contrary to the established therapeutic and forensic practice. Self-harm and suicidal behaviour are clinical presentations requiring a therapeutic response; treating them as disciplinary infractions increases the shame, isolation and the risk of recurrence, and constitute a further violation of Article 11 of the Constitution (Freedom from torture, and cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment and punishment).<\/p>\n The absence of trained mental health personnel<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The prison system relies overwhelmingly on general duty medical officers (MOs) and weekly visiting psychiatric teams, with no dedicated clinical or forensic psychologists stationed within prison institutions. Prison officers, jailors and welfare\/rehabilitation staff receive no structured training in recognising psychiatric symptoms, crisis de-escalation, or suicide first-aid.<\/p>\n Inadequate diversion pathways for the severely mentally ill and those unfit to plead<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Sri Lanka lacks a functioning inter-Ministerial mechanism between the Ministries of Health, Justice, and Social Services to divert and place persons who are severely mentally ill and those legally deemed unfit to plead, outside the prison system. Short-term transfers to the NIMH followed by a return to prison do not constitute compliance.<\/p>\n The absence of withdrawal management and harm reduction services<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The absence of medical withdrawal management protocols and harm-reduction services within prisons leaves prisoners with substance dependence exposed to a medical emergency at the point of admission, which independently elevates the risk of self-harm and suicide.<\/p>\n Un-reconciled and unreliable custodial death data<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The material discrepancy between the figures provided by the Police Department and the Prisons Department on custodial deaths demonstrates the absence of a single, independently verified system for recording and classifying custodial deaths. No institution currently conducts a psychological autopsy or structured post-incident review following a custodial suicide, depriving the system of the ability to learn from these deaths and prevent recurrence.<\/p>\n The absence of family notification and reception protocols<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The absence of systematic next-of-kin notification and telecommunication access at all prisons other than the exceptions to this, combined with the absence of a structured reception protocol for first-time entrants, contribute materially to the heightened fear, anxiety and suicidal ideation during a prisoner’s first night in custody.<\/p>\n The absence of discharge planning and continuity of care on release<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n No structured mechanism exists to refer prisoners with identified mental health needs or substance use issues to community-based services prior to release, undermining the continuity of care and contributing to the recidivism rate of approximately 20 per cent.<\/p>\n FR violations <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n This Litigation has been filed in the public interest of the FR of all persons incarcerated in the prison system. <\/span>In light of recent events of violence in multiple prisons resulting in the death of and injury to inmates and prison officers, the petitioners verily believe that the prison system does not have a properly funded and regulated mental health system which has resulted in and will continue to result in the deterioration of the mental health of all incarcerated persons. It is the contention of the petitioners that any person subjected to incarceration in the current prison system is automatically condemned to a life of degrading treatment and punishment which is prohibited under Articles 11 and Article 12(1) (Right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law). Sending a person to prison amounts to the violation of Article 11. It constitutes both physical and mental torture. Therefore, urgent action ought to be taken by the respondents with regard to mental health reforms and treatments inside the prison system. As no substantial prison reforms or budgetary allocation has been made to alleviate the mental suffering of prisoners and the suicides which have been reported, the actions and acts of commission or inactions and acts of omission of the respondents and the State constitute Executive and\/or administrative action within the contemplation of Article 126.<\/p>\n The reliefs prayed for <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n And therefore, given the current prison conditions, no person can be incarcerated in the prison system, without it also amounting to the violation of their FR guaranteed under the Constitution. And therefore, the push for reform concerning the mental health of prisoners must be an urgent one rather than a delayed or protracted process.<\/p>\n In this context, the action filed prays for the Apex\/Superior Court (the SC) to direct the relevant stakeholders (including the respondents) to: 1) <\/span>Formulate and submit to Court a mental health plan for persons incarcerated in the prison system (including convicted prisoners [those convicted for a certain number of months\/years, prisoners with life sentences, condemned prisoners, and those on appeal], and remandees [those who have not been given bail, those whose offence is non-bailable, those whose files have not been sent to the AG for determination whether to indict for an offence, those who are awaiting the commencement of the trial, and those who have ongoing trials]) in line with the United Nations (UN) Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners\/the Nelson Mandela Rules and other internationally accepted standards for the mental health of prisoners within a specific period of time given by the Court; 2) Inform the Court of the time period within which the said plan would come into operation (not being beyond six months from the date that the Court receives the plan); 3) Submit a plan to Court detailing how prisoners will receive adequate mental health screening when they enter and exit prisons, along with timely mental health treatment; 4) Function a mental health unit for prisoners with dedicated resources for treatment, care, research, education and awareness which will look in to the continuous mental welfare of prisoners including screening, treatment and post-release treatment; 5) Have a periodic review meeting, correctional plan and the drafting and implementation of new policies so that the screening and treatment of mental health issues of prisoners or former prisoners will be subjected to continuous review and reform; 6) Establish a unit similar to the Health Ministry\u2019s Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Surveillance Unit which will study suicide and self-harm in prisons when such incidents occur so that the continuous monitoring and upgrading of policies will become part of the prison reform process to reduce mental health related deaths and self-harm amongst prisoners and post-release prisoners; 7) Jointly develop and implement a standardised, validated mental health and suicide-risk screening protocol to be administered to every prisoner within 24 hours of admission, together with a schedule for continuous risk reassessment at defined intervals and following identified triggering events; 8) Establish a centralised medical and psychiatric records system ensuring that a prisoner’s complete medical history is transferred and made available to the receiving institution upon every transfer between prisons; 9) Issue a binding circular prohibiting the punitive treatment of self-harm and suicide attempts, including the practice of placing affected prisoners in punishment cells or removing their clothing, and to replace such practice with a clinically supervised, dignity-preserving therapeutic response; 10) Ensure the placement of qualified clinical or forensic psychologists at every closed and remand prison, and to institute mandatory training for prison officers, jailors and welfare staff in the recognition of psychiatric symptoms, crisis de-escalation, and suicide first-aid; 11) Jointly establish a mechanism for the appropriate placement of persons found unfit to stand trial or suffering from severe mental illness, outside the prison system; 12) Institute medical withdrawal management protocols and harm-reduction services within prisons for prisoners with substance dependence; 13) Jointly develop a single, independently verified system for recording and classifying custodial deaths, and to conduct a structured post-incident review, including a psychological autopsy, following every custodial suicide, with findings to be included as part of the death inquest report and incorporated into policy revision through the (aforementioned) unit established for the purpose; 14) Institute a mandatory next-of-kin notification protocol and provide telecommunication access at every prison institution, and develop a structured reception protocol for first-time entrants addressing the heightened psychological risk of the first night in custody; 15) Institute structured discharge planning, including referral to community-based mental health and substance abuse related services, for every prisoner identified with such needs (struggling with substance abuse), prior to release; 16) Provide Court with the estimated financial allocations needed for the implementation of the said plans which would be incorporated into the National Budget for the year that the reliefs will come into operation; and 17) Issue orders of Court concerning guidelines on the screening and treatment of the mental health of all suspects, accused persons, and convicts, at all stages of the judicial process, including at the stage of considering bail or remand and sentencing to imprisonment.<\/p>\n Background <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The petitioners filed this application in light of the custodial deaths due to suicide which have been reported recently, which raise questions about the mental well-being of prisoners including the number of hours that prison doctors should spend attending to the well-being of prisoners. In light of the above, the first petitioner (Jayakody) submitted three Right to Information Applications to the Prisons Department, the Police Department and the Rehabilitation Bureau and sought information regarding the following for the period from the year 2000 to May of this year: How many suicides have been recorded as having taken place within prisons, Police stations, and centres under the Bureau (including a breakdown based on closed prisons, remand prisons, work camps, open prison camps, and correctional centres for youthful offenders, and among those enlarged on bail from prison but were required, per judicial orders, to report on a monthly basis to the relevant Police stations as part of the bail conditions imposed on them); Details about the nature of the suicides (name of the deceased, their gender, age, the nature of the incarceration [remand, convict, death row], and the method of suicide); and What mental health-related and suicide risk assessment and prevention measures are in place within each aforementioned island-wide prison, camp, centre and Police station. At the time of filing this application, the Rehabilitation Bureau is yet to respond. The Police Central Criminal Investigation Bureau responded that 123 suicide-related death have been recorded in their database. According to the information given by the Prisons Department, in the last six years (2020-February 2026), 91 suicides have been confirmed from all prison institutions. The ages of the prisoners ranged between 20-59 years of age and the method of suicide in all 91 cases were by hanging. Almost all the deceased were male with the majority being suspects, followed by prisoners and death rowers. In response to the query on mental health-related and suicide prevention measures and steps taken within all institutions coming under the purview of the Prisons Department, the Department responded that the rehabilitation units at every prison look into the personal, family and legal issues of detainees, and identifies the mental stress faced by them and provides basic counselling services. Furthermore, the rehabilitation units organise religious activities, meditation programmes and sermons on behalf of prisoners of all religious persuasions. The Department further noted that at the point of imprisonment, the detainee is presented to the prison hospital doctor and subjected to a basic physical and mental health examination and that if it is found that the detainee is suffering from a serious mental breakdown or a past mental ill health condition, special attention is given; and that detainees showing a serious risk of or tendency towards suicide are separated and detained in wards where prison MOs and trained prison officers can observe. It further said that long-term prisoners are employed in various industries, crafts and arts and agricultural activities; that they organise indoor sports, music and dance-based aesthetic programmes; and that detainees are, on permitted days, facilitated to meet visitors (their spouse, children, and close persons), and also sent on holidays to home, released on order, and legally permitted phone call facilities to continuously communicate with their family members. However, the petitioners state that despite the above claims by the Prisons Department, the lived realities of prisoners, the cases of suicides reported in the press and maintained in the databases of the authorities, and the recent HRCSL study on prison conditions, paint a starkly different picture calling for an urgent need for policy reforms and policy implementation with regard to the mental health of inmates in prisons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":249093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n