India, Dec. 7 -- Chief Justice of India Surya Kant inaugurated skill development centres, ITI-level vocational courses and polytechnic programmes for inmates across Haryana jails on Friday.

The initiative, launched under the "Empowering Lives Behind Bars" project at the Bhondsi district prison, aims to transform prisons into spaces of learning, mental rehabilitation and employability.

The CJI, while addressing a gathering of judges, senior officials and legal services authorities, stressed that the purpose of incarceration cannot end at punishment.

"Reintegration must become a planned, systematic process - not merely a matter of hope," he said. He further warned that without skill training and guidance, prisons risk becoming "places wh...