Indian High Court forms committee to address HIV/AIDS in prisons

The high court in Mumbai, India, on Thursday formed a committee to create guidelines aimed at preventing the spread of HIV in prisons in response to the increasing spread of the virus among inmates, the Daily News & Analysis reports.

Justices Ranjana Desai and DY Chandrachud requested that Advocate General Ravi Kadam work with the inspector general for prisons to complete a draft of the guidelines by Oct. 1. Desai said the guidelines should address prevention and treatment for prisoners living with HIV/AIDS. Chandrachud added, "The issue of sexual contact between prison inmates will have to be confronted."

The justices also discussed the idea of counseling centers in each of the state's 36 prisons and making antiretroviral therapy available in the prisons. Advocate Rajesh Bindra said that at Yerwada prison, four physicians provide care for 4,000 inmates and that help could come from the National AIDS Control Organisation "to improve prison infrastructure" (Daily News & Analysis, 9/12).