During the Mughal period, nobles and members of the royal family were imprisoned at the fort of Gwalior.

In every society crime and punishment are closely linked, for law demands that criminals should be punished so that they pay the price for violating the law or customs and traditions of society.

Types of punishment vary from flogging, enslavement, paying fine and exile to execution and life imprisonment. However, in ancient and medieval times there were no systematic prison buildings. Prisoners were either kept under house arrest or remained confined in a place heavily guarded by authorities, so that the chances of breaking free or escape were minimal.

In ancient Greece, we find such a reference of confinement in the case of Socrates who was imprisoned after his death sentence was pronounced. Though his friends planned his escape, he refused to comply and preferred to die as a law abiding citizen. There is also evidence of a system of prison in ancient Egypt.

Edward M. Peters in his article ‘Prison before the Prison: The ancient and medieval world’ published in the Oxford History of the Prison: Practice of punishment in western society sheds light on the concept of prisons in the past. Edited by Norval Morris, the book reveals that ancient Egypt had an organised prison system where prisoners were engaged in different kinds of work during their confinement. There were supervisors, scribes, and guards for the management. Escape was regarded a grave crime and there was severe punishment for it.

In ancient Rome, in case of debt, the creditor had a right to imprison the debtor and as punishment he either sold the debtor as a slave or executed him. There was the tradition of domestic prisons where the master could confine his servants and slaves to maintain discipline.

In England, King William (1060-86) built the Tower of London for royal prisoners. It was used for centuries to keep members of the royal family, prominent rebels, and high-profile personalities much as Walter Raleigh and Queen Ann Bolyn. There is an interesting story of the bishop of Durham who was imprisoned in the tower on charges of corruption. He spent a great term there because he bribed his guards, who in turn provided him all sorts of facilities. One day he invited them for dinner and offered delicious food and a lot of liquor. When they got drunk, he scaled down the tower by a rope and escaped.

Henry II was the ruler who built royal prisons throughout the kingdom. According to rules, prisoners had to pay for their food, bedding and fuel. In case of poor prisoners, charity paid their expenses. It is said that the 18th century is regarded as a period of the birth of the modern prison system in Europe.

In the case of medieval India, there was no system of prison. Convicts were flogged, asked to pay fine, executed or put in confinement at the kotwali for a limited period. During the Mughal period, nobles and members of the royal family were imprisoned at the fort of Gwalior. Jehangir writes in the Tuzuk that he sent Ahmad Sirhindi, a religious scholar and Sufi, to the fort in order to reform his religious views. Aurangzeb kept prince Murad there. Some other forts were also used as prisons for aristocrats.

It appears that in the case of rebels or important nobles, houses were used as prison. Prince Dara Shukoh was kept in a house where he was killed on the order of the king. Shivaji was house arrested after his meeting with Aurangzeb. He managed to escape by hiding in a large sweet basket.

The other custom was that prisoners were given in custody of some trusted nobles to keep them. If they escaped, the custodian was responsible and faced the king’s wrath.

Prince Khusro, who rebelled against Jehangir, was kept in confinement in the palace and would accompany the king everywhere. Later on he was handed over to Prince Khurram, who secretly poisoned him while going to Deccan on an expedition, as he regarded him his rival to the throne. The modern prison system in India, however, was introduced by the colonial government.