Vulnerable behind bars
In 1994, a medical team suggested that condoms be made available in Tihar Jail after finding high rates of homosexuality there. Kiran Bedi, the then Inspector General of prisons, refused because that would tantamount to admitting an illegal activity, homosexuality, on jail premises. A human rights group, AIDS Bhedbav Virodh Andolan filed PIL in the Delhi High Court challenging the constitutional validity of section 377 and arguing for the supply of condoms to jail inmates. The case died out because the NGO did not turn up for the hearings. The jail still does not provide condoms to inmates. NACO plans to lobby with the home ministry to mend matters.
Meanwhile, the National Sentinel Surveillance Data 2005 shows that more than 8 per cent of the 25 lakh population of men who have sex with men are infected by HIV while HIV prevalence among the general population is less than one per cent.