oodies
हिंदी खबरें 
The Union Law Minister Dr. Veerappa Moily has promised to reduce the population of under-trials in jails by two-thirds by 31 July 2010. The six-month project, which is a part of the National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms was launched on 26 January 2010 and seeks to decongest the overcrowded prisons all over the country by releasing under-trial prisoners.
These prisoners are to be released through fast-track courts disposing petty offences. While state strategies to implement the mission vary, the minister intends to promote the expedition of bail, parole, plea-bargaining and most importantly, jail adalats (prison courts) for the release of petty offenders.
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) working across India on prison reforms – especially to reduce unnecessary detention - identified lack of any study or statistics on the functioning of jail adalats and undertook a study of these courts in ten states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. It has published its report in the form of a book titled ‘Liberty at the Cost of Innocence - A Report on Jail Adalats in India’.
While welcoming the initiative of the Union Law Minister to reduce the number of under-trials, CHRI expressed reservations about jail adalats being used as a means to address the issue of prison overcrowding, which is being taken recourse to by the states. The report seeks to inform and educate the people through the media about jail adalats (at this critical moment in the National Mission) and thereby highlight its inherent loopholes which are as follows:
-One of the ways to quickly dispose off cases advocated by governmental bodies and agencies is jail adalats. Translated literally as prison courts, jail adalats see judges holding courts in prisons to dispose off cases of “petty” offenders who are willing to admit guilt. Jail adalats have been conducted in many prisons across India since 1999 when the then Chief Justice of India (Justice A.S. Anand) sent a letter to the Chief Justices of all the High Courts. However, jail adalats have not been able to address the problem. In fact, many argue that they have themselves become a part of the problem. They are short in procedure, do not follow due process and exploit the vulnerability of poor prisoners. Those who have the means are released on bail.
-These short-cut mechanisms in effect encourage or reward prisoners who do not contest their case or drag it through the overburdened court system. It fails to recognize speedy trial as a fundamental right of every citizen, irrespective of their socio-economic background. The Supreme Court in Hussainara Khatoon and Others (1) vs. Home Secretary, State of Bihar case found that “though speedy trial is not specifically enumerated as a fundamental right, it is implicit in the broad sweep and content of Article 21”.
-Jail adalats would surely amplify conviction statistics, but when making these policy level decisions regarding the National Mission to reduce under-trial detention, it is important to bear in mind that its not numbers but lives of people getting affected, and especially of those ‘presumed to be innocent’.
While the judiciary and the legislature have both identified overcrowding of under-trials in Indian prisons as a major problem, and with the overburdened and dysfunctional court system, there is a growing justification for adopting “short-cut” mechanisms. This dilutes due process rights but is still pursued to portray the system as ‘functioning’. Fast track courts, plea-bargaining, videoconferencing, and jail adalats are some of the institutionalised examples of this.
Liberty at the Cost of Innocence - A Report on Jail Adalats in India explores the dubious choice given to poor prisoners unable to afford bail. The choice to either stay in prison and await a trial for months or years; or opt to confess and be released after recording a conviction for the period (of imprisonment already) undergone.
The book also recommends alternative measures to decongest prisons that do not impinge upon the rights of under-trial prisoners. These measures include liberalized bail provisions; releasing under-trials on personal bond instead of money which many are unable to furnish; decriminalizing petty offences; and discharging petty offenders instead of releasing them on conviction.
