Honr'ble District Court of Delhi has ordered S.D.O.E & M to give death compensation to the wife of a deceased.

The Petitioner Babita Kumari is a widow of late Richpal singh, a workman who was employed by S.D.O.E & M, Ordinance Depot, Shakur Basti, Delhi. While working at ordinance depot Shakur Basti, he was assigned work with an electrician on 25th October 2002 and asked by the electrician to go up on the pole to attend something which was beyond the scope of duty of Richpal Singh. As a result he got electrocuted while working and fell down the pole and died on spot. Richpal Singh was deaf and dumb person and his average monthly wages amounted to Rs. 4500.

Notice of death of the deceased was not served on time due to the fact that applicant is physically disabled person and is certified to be 50% and permanently disabled. Petitioner is a poor lady with two dependent and was dependent on the deceased for her survival. After the death of the deceased she wanted to file a claim for compensation with S.D.O.E & M, ordinance depot and also wanted to pursue the criminal complaint against the employee. But she was told that if she claimed compensation and pursued criminal prosecution then the Petitioner would not be given compassionate appointment in place of her husband and therefore she did not pursue the same. But even after 4 years and 3 months of the husband death the Petitioner was not given compassionate appointment in place of her husband. The applicant was entitled to receive a lump sum payment of Rs. 3,70,840.00 multiplied by 18417 (relevant factor under Schedule IV of the Workmen’s Compensation Act) + 2500 (towards expenditure on funeral of the Workman under Section 4(4) of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923).

Now, the Honorable District Court of Delhi has given its judgment, to compensate the Petitioner and directed as follows:

In the given age and wage, the petitioner is entitles to death compensation of Rs. 3, 68,340/-.The applicant is also entitled to as per Section 4 A interest @12% per annum from the date 30 days after the accident, i.e. 25.11.2002 till realization. She is also entitled for funeral charges of Rs. 2500/-. In order accordingly for the payment of interest.

Respondent is directed to deposit the amount of death compensation along with interest and funeral charges with this court within 30 days from the date of this order failing which the same shall be recovered by way of land revenue.

The Governor of Assam and Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court assure positive steps for providing relief and rehabilitation as well as restoring the rule of law in conflict affected district, Karbi Anlong

The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), an all-India organisation of lawyers and social activists, has sought Assam governor J.B. Patnaik’s intervention to facilitate the safe return of people displaced by recent Karbi-Rengma clashes to their homes.

After visiting the areas affected by clashes in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, a six-member fact-finding team of the HRLN met Patnaik here last evening and submitted its recommendations which include creating a conducive atmosphere for the relief camp inmates to return home.
According to them, thousands of people are still waiting in the camps fearing a fresh bout of violence. The members of the HRLN team said during their visit the relief camp, the inmates had expressed unwillingness to return home because of a lack of security.

A senior lawyer of Sikkim High Court, Doma Bhutia, who was a member of the fact-finding team, told The Telegraph that Patnaik had assured them that all necessary security measures would be taken. “The governor also told us that he would visit the affected areas shortly to get a first-hand feel of the situation,” she said.
“The Assam government has set a January 20 deadline to send all relief camp inmates home, but a majority of them are reluctant as they are apprehensive about their security,” Bhutia said.

“They have told us that police and civil administration have failed to avert trouble despite giving them prior intimation that such a situation may arise. As a result, these people have lost faith in the government.”
The fact-finding team, comprising Bhutia, Sanjai Sharma, Satya Sagar, N. Sukumaran, Rosemary Dzuvichu and Samhita Baruah, visited Diphu, Santipur and Chowkohola areas in Karbi Anglong from January 14 to 18.
During their visits, the team members met officials and police officers, relief camp inmates and members of civil society groups, among others.

In its recommendation, the HRLN has suggested separation of executive and judiciary in Karbi Anglong. At present, the deputy commissioner is also district and sessions judge which, according to them, has put extra burden on him hampering smooth discharge of his official duties.

The members also submitted their recommendations to chairperson of Assam State Legal Service Authority and judge of Gauhati High Court Justice T. Vaiphei here yesterday.

According to official figures, 3,770 people displaced in the recent violence are sheltered in the relief camps, but according to the HRLN, the total number of people displaced is much higher as many of them are staying in the homes of friends and relatives.

SC commutes death sentences of 15 Convicts, due to delay in mercy plea decisions

The Petitioner has filed a writ petitions, under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, which has been filed either by the convicts, who were awarded death sentence or by their family members or by public-spirited bodies like People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) based on the rejection of mercy petitions by the Governor and the President of India.

In all the writ petitions, the main prayer consistently relates to the issuance of a writ of declaration declaring that execution of sentence of death pursuant to the rejection of the mercy petitions by the President of India is unconstitutional and to set aside the death sentence imposed upon them by commuting the same to imprisonment for life. Further, it is also prayed for declaring the order passed by the Governor/President of India rejecting their respective mercy petitions as illegal and unenforceable.

The Honorable Supreme Court held that death sentence of a condemned prisoner can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of delay on the part of the government in deciding the mercy plea. In a landmark verdict that can come as a relief to many death row convicts.

Giving life term to 15 death row inmates, including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan, the apex court also ruled that a death convict suffering from mental insanity and schizophrenia cannot be hanged.

It overruled its own verdict in Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s case in which it had held that delay in deciding mercy plea cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence.

The Court said Death sentence in such cases can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of their mental illness. The judgment may have implications in various cases, including the petitions filed by three death row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who have challenged the President’s rejection of their mercy plea less than three years ago. Framing guidelines on disposal of mercy petitions and execution of death sentence, a bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam ruled that convicts given death sentence must be informed about the rejection of their mercy pleas and should be given a chance to meet their family members before they are executed.

It also held that solitary confinement of a prisoner, including death row convict, is unconstitutional and it should not be allowed in the prisons. The bench gave its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by 15 death row inmates seeking its direction for commutation of their sentence to life term on the grounds of delay in deciding mercy plea and mental illness. It also said that execution of death sentence should be carried out only 14 days after rejection of the mercy plea. The apex court also said that the prison authorities must provide legal aid to prisoners facing death sentence so that they can approach courts for commutation of their sentence on the ground of their illness and delay in deciding mercy plea by the government.

Pronouncing its judgment on 13 petitions filed by the 15 convicts whose execution of sentence had been stayed by the apex court, the three-judge bench clarified that its directions be implemented in all cases whether a person has been convicted under IPC or the anti-terror law. The issue of communication of rejection of mercy plea assumes importance in view of the controversy surrounding the execution of Parliament attack case convict Mohd Afzal as there was allegation that his family members were not properly communicated about the dismissal of his plea and subsequent hanging.

Earlier, a two-judge bench in April 2013 had held that long delay in disposing of mercy pleas by the President or the governor of persons convicted under anti-terror laws or similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence. The April 12, 2013 ruling was pronounced while rejecting Bhullar’s plea for commutation of sentence on ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea. At that time, there were over 20 convicts facing execution.

Later on, an apex court bench had granted relief to a condemned prisoner M.N. Das who had sought conversion of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy petition. Justice Sathasivam, before taking over as CJI, had said that there was a need for “authoritative pronouncements” by a larger bench or a Constitution Bench on issues like mercy pleas to avoid conflicting views by smaller benches.

The 15 death row inmates on whose pleas the apex court delivered its verdict are sandalwood smuggler Veerappan’s aides and others. The other death row convicts included Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sonia and her husband Sanjeev, Sundar Singh and Jafar Ali convicted in various cases. While Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh and Jafar Ali are lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh, former Haryana MLA Ralu Ram Punia’s daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjeev are jailed in Haryana. Praveen is in a Karnataka jail and Sundar Singh is an inmate of a prison in Uttaranchal.Sonia and Sanjeev were awarded death penalty for killing eight members of her family, including her parents and three children of her brother in 2001.Gurmeet Singh was convicted for killing 13 of his family members in 1986. Jafar Ali murdered his wife and five daughters. Suresh and Ramji killed five of their relatives.

HRLN has filed a Special Leave Petition on behalf of thousands of innocent People who suffers illegal incarceration

The Petitioner had filed a Special Leave Petition against the impugned order of the High Court of Calcutta in Writ Petition No. 26112 of 2013 dated 30.08.2013.

This petition has been filed in the public interest against the state of West Bengal for and on behalf of thousands of persons who suffer illegal incarceration for varying periods of time without ever being charged with any offence on account of the police and magistrate’s illegally detaining such persons only under the provisions of sections 107, 109 and 151 Cr.P.C. These persons were in jail for days and sometimes months and then released without any criminal proceedings instituted against them.

Not only were these proceedings contrary to the abovementioned sections which speak only of execution of a bond and do not permit arrest solely on the basis of these sections of the Cr.P.C., additionally these arrests were contrary to the decision of the Supreme Court in Madhu Limaye Vs. Ved Murti (AIR 1971 SC 2481) where the Supreme Court held as under:

“…we have seen the provisions of section 107. That section says that action is to be taken in the manner hereinafter provided and this clearly indicates that it is not open to a Magistrate in such a case to depart from the procedure to any substantial extent. This is very salutary because the liberty of the person is involved and the law is rightly solicitous, that this liberty should only be curtailed according to its own procedure and not according to the whim of the Magistrate concerned. It behoves us, therefore, to emphasize the safeguards built into the procedure because from there will arise the consideration of the reasonableness of the restrictions in the interest of public order or in the interest of the general public.”

In the present petition, in addition to the prayers sought for in the Writ petition filed at the High Court of Calcutta, the petitioner has also sought for additional directions against the respondents. The directions are as under:

Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to immediately identify persons detained in the correctional homes of the State in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and forthwith release them and/or set them at liberty;
Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to ensure that no person is made to suffer imprisonment in connection with proceedings arising out of and/or invoking the provisions of Section 107 and/or Section 109 and/or Section 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 in the absence of any further substantive charges against them, and thus to ensure that no person is denied of his right to liberty;
For an order directing an enquiry by an independent person into the prevailing system of registered sureties in the state of West Bengal and thereafter to dismantle the system of registered sureties;
For an order directing all the Criminal Courts in the state of West Bengal to ensure that the Court orders are written only by authorized Court staff/judicial officers and that in no circumstance should personnel be associated with the writing of court orders:
• Issue a direction directing the Sub-divisional Magistrates and/or the Executive Magistrates in the State of West Bengal to release persons upon furnishing personal bonds who are incapable to bring or produce sureties in proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973;
• Issue a Direction directing the Sub-divisional Magistrates and/or the Executive Magistrates in the State of West Bengal prohibiting them from passing directions requiring attendance of a person at the police station subsequent to his furnishing the requisite bond in proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to suitably compensate persons detained in the correctional homes of the State in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or Section 109 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1), their men, agents and subordinates to ensure, by way of continuous monitoring and regular check in all the correctional homes that whenever a person is brought into any correctional home in the State, in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is immediately referred to the concerned District Legal Services Authority and/or the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authority and/or any other voluntary and non-governmental legal aid authorities for their immediate release;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1) to ensure that persons detained by the police in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are immediately expressly informed about their right to legal aid and to forthwith notify the concerned District Legal Services Authority and/or the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authority for rendering free legal services;
• Issue a direction directing the Sub-divisional Magistrates and/or the Executive Magistrates in the State of West Bengal to expressly inform all persons, brought before the authority in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 and/or 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, about their right to legal aid and to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner and to forthwith notify the concerned District Legal Services Authority and/or the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authority for engaging a Lawyer;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1) to ensure that all the District Legal Services Authorities and the Sub-divisional Legal Services Authorities take immediate steps for engagement of a Lawyer whenever such request is made either by the concerned Executive Magistrates and/or by the Police to represent a person detained in proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 and/or 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure;
• Issue a Direction upon the Respondent (R-1) to ensure that all persons arrested or detained in connection with proceedings arising out of Section 107 and/or 109 and/or 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are mandatorily produced before the concerned Executive Magistrate in person;

HRLN Law Interns filed a PIL to compensate the Acid Attack Survivor in the High Court of Allahabad

The PIL was filed by law interns associated with the Human Rights Law Network. Hearing public interest litigation (PIL), the Allahabad High Court has asked the state government whether it had any scheme to compensate acid attack victims in the state.

Passing the above order, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Mishra directed the state government to inform the court whether or not it had any scheme to compensate the acid attack victims in accordance with the provisions of section 357 of CrPC. The court further directed that if such a scheme was not there till date, the state government should ensure that it was made at an early date.

The petitioners, Ayushi Dubey and nine other law students, raised the matter of acid attack on a student and her mother in Badlapur, Janpur district, and sought the court's intervention for ensuring proper treatment and compensation to the victims and their rehabilitation on the one hand and police action against the accused on the other.

The court directed the respondents to ensure that due medical care was provided to the victim and her mother.

HRLN has filed a PIL to appoint an enquiry in the Matter of custodial death in Ghaziabad

The Petitioner has filed a PIL against the State of U.P which relates to the worst crime of society governed by rule of law called as custodial death of Shakeel at Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad who was a Son of Khalil Ahmad, and was a resident of Ward No. 2, Yaseen Garhi, Dasna, at Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad.

The Petitioner’s organization is a registered organization who is working in the State of Uttar Pradesh for the preservation, protection and promotion of Human Rights and especially for the rights of those peoples who were subjected to cruel discrimination for the centuries due to social backwardness and in economic disparity.

It is, therefore, Most Respectfully Prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:-

·     Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the State Human Right Commission to appoint an enquiry into the matter of the custodial torture and death of Shakeel, S/o Khalil Ahmad, R/o Ward No. 2, Yaseen Garhi, Dasna, Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad by the police of Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad and other constables in Police Station Kavi Nagar U/s 17 of Protection of Human Right Act, 1993 and submit its report before this Hon'ble Court in stipulated time.

·         Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS directing an independent, impartial enquiry to be conducted by any retired District Judge of the State for submitting its report before the Court in a stipulated time.

·        Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the Respondent No. 1 & 2 to furnish the record all custodial torture, custodial death and custodial rape in Police Stations, Police Lines and Police Outposts, Lock-ups in Uttar Pradesh for the last one year.

·        Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the Respondent No. 1 to pay adequate compensation to the family members of the deceased Shakeel, S/o Khalil Ahmad, R/o Ward No. 2, Yaseen Garhi, Dasna, Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad.

·         Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of MANDAMUS commanding the respondents to initiate the departmental and disciplinary proceeding against the police personnel of Police Station Kavi Nagar, District Ghaziabad who are responsible for the custodial death of Shakeel.

National Consultation on Improving Criminal Legal Aid in India

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees every citizen ‘the right to life’, has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include the provision of free criminal legal aid to every indigent person[1]. The Legal System in India, although rich in many ways, is still a nightmare to several in prisons who seek justice through it. The inaccessibility of the poor to lawyers, an almost absent pro-bono culture, the complexity of the system, the inordinate delays, the lack of adequate legal training, corruption and a failure to implement the law, are some of the problems that the system is riddled with. Yet, in the midst of these, we must believe that systemic change is possible.

A 2012 year-end report of the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, has held 66.2% of various types of prison inmates to constitute ‘under trials’. In the State of Bihar, at the end of 2012, there were 24,389 under trial prisoners and 4108 convicted prisoners in prisons across the State. These Statistics speak volumes for the lack of access to Legal Aid.According to Mr. Alexander Jacob, Ex - Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Kerala, at least 20 percent of Prison inmates are not guilty and behind bars due to lack of access to Legal Aid.
There is an acute need to bring in mechanisms to encourage lawyers to provide Legal Aid, either privately or through the government system. Reform in the access to Criminal Legal Aid will be vital in ensuring two equally footed lawyers present a fair trial.

In April 2013 Human Rights Law Network organized a National Consultation on Prisons Legal Aid at the conclusion of which it was commonly agreed upon that steps would be taken to increase the access to legal aid, protection of inmates, improve prison conditions of women and children and bring about reforms in prisons. This fuelled filing of a PIL in the Supreme Court with regard to prison reforms and 2 PILs in the Allahabad High Court have been filed along with a Writ Petition in the High Court of Calcutta seeking to reform conditions of women and children in prisons and to increase the protection of inmates in jails.
An area that still requires attention and immediate reform is in the system of legal aid being offered in the country to prison inmates. HRLN along with JVI is organizing a National Consultation on Improving Criminal Legal Aid in India.

The National Consultation on Improving Criminal Legal Aid in India seeks toforge a strong network of Lawyers, Social Activists, NGOs, Government Agencies and other relevant stakeholders to increase the access to quality Legal Aid for prisoners across the Country.
In keeping with the above vision, the National Consultation will discuss the following themes:
I. Access to Legal Aid
a. Legal Aid at the time of Arrest
b. Legal Aid for Women
c. Legal Aid for Under trials
d. Legal Aid in appeal/sentencing
II. Legal Aid in Special Circumstances:
a. Juveniles
b. Mental Health
c. Foreigners
d. Conflict Zones
III. Pro Bono Legal Aid
a. Advocacy of Pro – Bono practice among lawyers
b. Legal Aid cells in College
c. Legal Aid Clinics
IV. Increasing access to quality Legal Aid
a. Ensuring Access to Prisons for Lawyers
b. Ensuring Economic Sustainability with regard to Legal Aid
V. Duties of the Lawyer:
a. High Standards and Training of Lawyers
b. Accountability of Legal Aid Lawyers
VI. Reforms in the LSA:
a. The current state of the L.S.A.
b. Reforms required
c. Means of bringing about reform

The Consultation will comprise resource persons who will throw light on the current state of affairs, recent developments in law and policy, and recent developments in case law followed by a 45-minute interactive session which will outline steps on how to move forward in each area. It is hoped that the Consultation will lead to the formation of a strong network of individuals and organizations that will increase the access to free legal aid through qualitative legal support and assistance to prison inmates in the country

National Consultation on Prison Legal Aid, 13th & 14th April, 2013, New Delhi

AREAS OF INTERVENTION:All the problems relating to the prisoners in all the states, because of the black laws of the states, and the solutions, through law and PIL were discussed in the session held on 13^th and 14^th of April, 2012.

Day 1, 13^th May 2013

Brief:The meeting was started by Mr. K.K. Roy and Mr. Colin in light of Bhullar’s Case where an innocent Professor of Engineering was charged of being a terrorist and was awarded death penalty without proper evidences and witnesses.

The Main aim of the meeting was to teach the Lawyers and Activists how to use legal system for prisoners and focus was on the legal system. There are many social activists who are helping HRLN in this legal aid campaign.  The agenda was to build network of the activists who can help to provide legal aid to the prisoners on the national platform.

Mr. Nihal suggested that we should train the Social Activists to file PIL on relevant issues so as to improve the working of the prison society of India.

Kamalnath Pandey asked the activists to focus on the states of Jharkhand and Odisha. Where Kirti Roy questioned that how can we change the condition of anything by PIL when the ministers themselves say these days that the system is rotten, and in case of conflict prisoners should be granted bail on surety bonds but even then the faults continue to prevail.

Some examples were raised by some participants like in case of Kasab the fundamental right f Legal Aid was never provided and another was about the rule in Maharashtra which dictates that if a person is arrested he should immediately be provided legal aid but this rule is almost never practiced in the state.

 M.Z. Khan said that the prisons are rotting because they are not the priority of the Government. He had visited many prisons of state and national level and had seen the problems of corruption such as Narcotics and homosexuality inside the prison premises. He also saw the poor conditions of the inmates in the prison. He also said that the staffs is appointed without training and the problem that the commanding officers are not from the same department further enhances the problem as they do not understand the ground realities of the prison.

Some more cases were discussed like in case of Hussainara Khatun the inmate was not released on time in order to take vengeance and in Khatri vs. State of Bihar legal aid was not provided. Now it is the responsibility of the court to see that legal aid is provided and the rights against torture are ensured to the inmates and the acquitted or bailed out inmates are released on time.  In Ranjan Desai case huge compensation was awarded by the court for the inconvenience in prison. In the judgment of Sunil Batra’s case the court ordered that the jail’s condition should be checked on weekly basis and the complaint box should be properly checked.

In Best Bakery Case High Court ordered for enquiry on transfer given by Special Court and punished the prison officials for bad treatment of inmates.

In Sheela Barse vs. State of Maharashtra it was ordered not to keep the mentally ill prisoners in jail. In R.D.Upadhyay vs. the State of A.P. the issue of the age to which a child had to remain in prison with the women prisoner was raised.

Advocate, Mr. Ajay Verma said that overcrowding in prison is the biggest problem in prison management and even though the Motiram judgment was given in 1978 but till date it has not been implemented. The legal aid is not very successful in India as prisoners are forced for plea bargaining and it is not the best way to counter the problem of overcrowding. The Legal Aid system in India is corrupt in a program run by IBJ in 100 out of 180 cases taken up by them the implementation of judgement was absent.

A Bangladeshi inmate was arrested for theft and murder at the age of 13, was not given juvenile advantage, he was sent to FRRO camp before being deported to Bangladesh even after being acquitted by the High Court after being found to be juvenile.

What adds to the miseries of the inmates is when Security officials misbehave with the inmates. In Alvar Jail with the help of CHRI and IBJ wardens and other officials were trained. Likewise a lot of issues can be resolved by education and paralegal training of the prisoners. Kasab was said to be given legal aid at trail but no legal aid was given at Police Station. Collective effort should be made to provide legal aid right from the level of police stations. So that people could be bailed on personal bonds and so that legal aid and freedom could be availed to Bangladeshi inmates also.

Mr. Collin said that prisoners who have completed more than half of the maximum sentence that can be awarded to a person charged for the offence can be released on personal bond according to Sec. 436 and 436A of Cr.PC. in Bombay a lot of prisoners were granted bail and released on personal bonds. People are languishing in prisons for bail-able offences also because they have not applied for bail as they are not aware of the provision. And hence spreading awareness is the need of the hour.

Mr. Abhishek said that the system of bail should be made fare, and the trails should be made speedy and fair in order to improve the plight of the prisoners.

There are three problems with regard to bail. These are:-

1.      Illiteracy/Lack of Awareness

2.      Financial issues &

3.      Lack of Lawyers

Today a poor person languishes in jail because he cannot afford to get bail. People are not produced in jails on their dates and thus, they do not get bail. There must be clear guidelines as to how would the bails be explained to people. Illiterate people should be made understood with public announcement. Personal bond must be granted. Person in petty offences police can release them in Police Stations and they need not to go to the magistrate.

Prisoners are asked for very high bond amount, police surety and solvency report, this must be standardized. Prison welfare office should look into issues of jails.

If guidelines are not followed PILs should be filed in their regard. PILs and RTIs should be used more effectively for this purpose.

Advocate, Parthosarthy Das shared his experience about his visits to correctional homes. Prisoners told that they were not produced on their dates. Each and every personal lodged in lockup should be produced in the court. Nowadays the court does not see the details but only the section and on the basis of it, it gives bail. If the section is bail-able then the bail is given and they do not apply their judicial mind. PIL should be filled about courts seeing the gravity of the offence for bail and not just the section. If a person is going to magistrate with legal aid lawyer then bail should be granted by personal bond or on bail given by legal aid board. Panel of surety persons so that if magistrates get a bail application then the surety persons gives bail, this has become a business and this should be abolished.

Sister Suma Sebastian, HRLN, shared that India has 6^th largest number of prisoners. 2,40,000 of which are under-trials. And 65,000 are between 18-30years in age, 89,000 are from 30-50. And only 42.5% are educated only till class 10^th. Prison system is correctional in nature and the state is responsible for rehabilitate them and the state should take responsibility to make these institution correctional in nature. Prison should be like hospitals to correct. Prison manual can get a lot of relief. Constitutional provisions are there but the condition in actual is different. Custodial deaths are not properly investigated by the prison and the judicial authority. Access of potable water to prisoners is also an issue. Legal aid should be provided to the needy prisoners. Majority of prisoners are from low income group. Police takes money for address verification. Various malpractices are done by prison authorities. In most of the cases, the amount of surety is too much for poor people. Poor prisoners confess their crime under pressure. Something needs to be done for them.

 In the discussion and suggestion round various ideas were given by the participants, some of which are discussed below.

In Bihar people are not able to avail bail because they are not able to avail sureties something needs to be done in this regard and also a PIL should be filed for allowing the children and family members to meet the imprisoned under-trails. The cases in which bail can be granted in 60-90days the bail application is rejected because charge sheet is not produced at the right time.

A proviso has been passed by high court, when charge sheet is submitted then people are sent to jail even in petty cases. PIL must be filed with regard to surety for the poor people. When thana can give bail why cannot we do away with the system of surety in appropriate case.

In Assam lower judiciary has mentality of not giving bail in non-bail-able offences. Judicial officers should be trained properly. Case diary is filed by the police and they charge money for sending good case diary.

Judiciary is nothing less than police. Police puts more number of sections to make a heavier case. Court does not read the story of the accused and only goes by police version. A proper study should be done as to on what basis the bail has been given by the judge.

Special act creates problem for example excise issues are made non-bail able offence in Chhattisgarh. Cases of liquor in small amounts have to be taken to high court for bail. 173 (2) is used by rich people to get bail while poor tribal’s are not able to get bail in liquor sale case.

When applications for bail are filed then judiciary calls for report from the police for the said FIR and the other FIRs with regard to that person, but the police sends the report of only that fir and then arrests that person in another FIR.

Knowledge about Juvenile Justice Law is poor, 16 December gang rape case there was a discussion. But there is no knowledge even amongst the judges. The attention towards JJ act never goes, people want to stay away. When we visited Tihar, we noticed that how legal aid lawyers are working. We have lawyers, but who are not informed. In schools the J.J. act of 1986 is followed.

Birth registration was a issued raised in the PIL. Even if you know that there is a person who is less than 18 in prison. Problem is not having birth certificate. The other issue is, shifting of children from Tihar to observation homes. Even if you spend a day or two in Tihar you become something else. There is very less scope of understanding these children and reforming them. Superintendent complains about inability of handling such children. Research is poor, intuitively we say it is bad but we don’t do much about it. Need evidence for further advocacy. There should be a manual for magistrates also. Judgments give life imprisonment to juveniles.

 The number of juveniles involved in heinous crimes is increasing over the years. Children get involved in crime again and again. Why do they commit crime, the conditions due to which they get involved in crime? If a child only sees drug abuse and violence in his family he would not know right or wrong. Mental health counselling is required. Trained, experience and qualified counsellors are not there.

Age memo has to be mentioned with arrest. 21 years of age is to be verified by police, magistrate and welfare officer of prison. Even after these three check point still children are languishing. Police at the time of arrest ignores the age at times because child looks like an adult or child lies to police or the child does not know. Police never takes for ossification test and ultimately child produced in the court.

Never allow juvenile status, free legal aid. When children are transferred, the IO does not get informed. Children are transferred from prison to observation home. Welfare officers should be increased in each observation homes.

Through judicial intervention, advocacy, home ministry. Responsibility through PIL should be taken; order of court taken into consideration.

In jail there is corruption and discrimination, more privilege is given to the rich people, they are given all the facilities. While the poor people are not even given right for their basic needs like praying. The religious minorities are facing many difficulties in the jail; Muslims are being tortured on this basis. Muslims are always brought to the jail with label of terrorism and Christians are labelled as convicts for doing conversion and thus a biased attitude continues in the jail.

Custody means police and judicial. When a person is arrested he is called as UTP-under trial prisoner. The accused has to be physically produced in front of the magistrate and the magistrate has to examine the evidence. This is the general procedure in India. With this we have to check how much independent is the judiciary in our country.

Lawyers going to meet naxalite, their conversation recorded, pictures clicked. A lot of witness for the cases are not produced by the police themselves. Whenever it’s a naxal crime, just in the name, people are punished not given fair trial. Koparam: internally displaced he was booked in a false case, he got bail only through Supreme Court. 

Legal Aid lawyers are not enough and not much chance of defense for the lawyers. Lawyers are also booked in a number of cases. Narainpur Bar President was booked, tortured because he had tiff with police. They picked up his daughter and son just because he had a tiff with police.  Lawyers are booked in National Security Act and other act. Lawyers fighting against JINDAL are even booked for grievous crimes.

Action Plan:

o   The law commission suggested that, if any injury was found on an accused it should be assumed that the official who was in charge of the accused must have committed it unless the official proves the contrary.

o   Make the age memo rule strict which is to be mentioned with arrest. 21 years of age is to be verified by police, magistrate and welfare officer of prison.

o   Spread awareness about bail and motivating more lawyers to take up bail cases.

o   Welfare officers should be increased in each observation home where children are sent.

o   PIL for Miranda Warning to be given at the time of arrest, so as to Accused can avail legal aid from the time of arrest.

o   Providing Safety to Lawyers who fight cases for Naxals.

o    Spreading knowledge about Juvenile Justice Board.

Day 2, 14^th April 2013

Brief:Mr. Rajiv Yadav discussed about Nation Legal Services Authority (NaLSA). He told that NALSA,1987haslaiddown policy for the prisoners. In which free Legal Aid is provided to women, children and poor SC/ST who have an income of less than 1 lakh per annum. In SC the LSA solves various disputes and NaLSA frames schemes to provide Legal Aid. Settlements of disputes are dealt in NAREGA, and to the victims of the mass disaster are brought to NaLSA and NaLSAprovides training,and according tonational regulation of 2010 it provides free legal aid too. MonitoringCommittee is appointed for them and if it is needed NaLSA appoints Senior Advocates also. Ration card ID is provided to them if it is needed and scheme for the mentally ill are made in accordance 1994 Mental Act.

Adv. Anup Bhambani said legal aid should be provided right from the time of arrest. And the accused/arrested should be briefed about his rights like the Miranda warning is given in the US.

Officer follow the Cr.PC, witnesses are examined, basis of the criminal proceeding is laid in such cases, in Kasab’s case it can be learned that the legal aid should be provided at the very instance of the arrest of the person and families should be informed.

System allows the Lawyers to interact with the accused which is really required but no privacy is provided and sufficient time is also not provided, in such situation it is very difficult for the accused to narrate his case.

More than 40% of the inmates in Tihar are illiterate and due to this the Ministry of Human Resources started literacy program. This will help in their rehabilitation is the society after they have completed their sentence.

Adv. Ajay Verma who works with Legal Aid Authority in Delhi said that Legal aid has grown a lot in the last decade. He talked about the inefficiencies in the legal services and suggested that the rule of Miranda warning should be practiced in India.

Mr. Jouhar said in the Chittawra district of Bihar if a case comes up where there is no lawyer to represent the either of the parties the judge asks the lawyers to take such cases but they are paid ₹800 for each case irrespective of court expenditure, external financial help should be provided to such lawyers.

Mr. Colin said this is a speech for reform, like JJ act has been. Legal aid is in a bad shape. Delhi is trying to change and no NGO is providing legal aid like HRLN. The Legal aid system is far better than rest of the country and the ideas and ideals from Delhi should be taken outside.

Right to life has been recognized internationally, Indian state should abolish death penalty, if we have to resort to death then as a system we are failing. State taking life of individual is not the way of reformation thus there is need for the abolition of death penalty.

Right to life is a fundamental right under Art.21 of C.O.I. and state cannot take away something which has not been provided by it in the first place.

We can never assure that our justice system is full proof and the right person is getting punished. Law is not a mechanism for vengeance. We should remember an eye for an eye will make the world blind.

98 out of the 194 nations have abolished death penalty and others are considering of de facto abolishing it. India should also set forward a foot to getting over such practice.

This is a mark of a fail civilization and as a society which believes in rule of law, that we claim to be, should we practice it.

In the prison of Bhubaneswar, Bangalore, Goa there are around 300 adivasi all accused under NDPS Act, work as peddler to transfer ganja. Lot of mafia involved in such cases, needs to be stopped in Warangal and Vijayawada. For the adivasis it is very difficult to get a bail. There are more political issues involved in such cases than legal issues. The entire country has no women doctor posted. There is advisory board only for name, it is there to work for reform of prisoner but not doing it.

The nation in name of instant justice is hanging people, we want to punish the accused and not follow the law.

We must understand that public opinion; there is no tip of the law. Despite so much of human rights, where did we find public opinion? There is a larger opinion fail to democratize, human rights opinion. No democratic ethos and norms. What are the principles we are fighting for? People feel defenceless.

NHRC finalized that encounter by police were fake. This is the level of corruption. We need to think outside the domain of law also to provide social justice to people who need it the most.

After Kasab judgment SC has not done anything new, a person has right to legal aid lawyer from the day of arrest. Person arrested should be informed immediately about his rights and should be given legal aid.

Right to counsel should be available at all stages. There should be a paralegal posted at every police station to aid the people aa soon as they are arrested. Delhi HC issued direction to legal service authority, where those lawyers who are having experience of 7 years or more should offer legal aid.

Two years back 17 Indians were awarded death penalty in Sharjah and they were totally unaware of the trails and the language of the court and they were still not given any legal aid.

Safe homes have been made in Punjab where runaway couples can get married and if their families continue to oppose the marriage they are even called for weddings.

women in prison are not provided with woollen in chilling winter and upon asking the answer was that the funds were not available for woollen clothes. State does not do any favour to children in jail with women by treating them well. Conducted a survey with another organization Hifazat in MP, and found out that women with children are not provided with extra meal or any special meal for lactating mothers. No medical facilities. For entire MP there is only one lady physician for jails. No education facility in prison and only play grounds are available. All of the above has affected healthy life of the children and their right to get good environment. The work in this regard needs to be done in a time frame, appointment of women gynaecologist in the jails of MP, open jails, opening of schools inside the jail. State should also assume the responsibility of children who are of more than 6 years and who do not have any guardian to look after them. The condition is same in the whole country.

Sheela Barse V/S The State of Maharashtra. Suggestion made by HC the said case is every arrest shall be reported to legal aid committee. Police stations should have different lockups for men and women.

More than 100 deaths have occurred in custody and no judicial probe is being ordered. recently an incident occurred in which a women died in a jail and superintendent when called up was not available for meeting. We should file a PIL on compulsory judicial probe on death of the inmates in the jail.

Ramdas Kubale case was a case of an undertrial death and 32 undertrials have died in jails and after this the policy on HIV was made.

we are trying to setup legal aid clinic in Dantewaada, but setting up legal movement is not sufficient political movement should be started alongside it.

Action Plan

o   If there are first time offenders who are medically weak they should be given bail on issues like: aids, TB, heart disease etc. prison manuals are not being given to the inmates thus in A.P. with help of LSA a pamphlet was prepared and distributed in the prisons.

o   Prepare a list of prisoners with profiling which should be available on demand. RTI’s must be filed to get information from the jail authorities in 436A.

o   All details and profiles of the prisoners in Bihar shall be made public and then PIL must be filed. Prisoners must be sensitized and educated about their rights.

o   There should be some fixed responsibility for everyone and there should be some loose network to work this out. Justice delivery system does not work properly if we are able to come up with some figures then we will be able to come up with some positive results.

o   Legal aid lawyers are not accountable to their clients. NaLSA should issue guidelines that legal aid lawyers shall compulsorily brief their clients about the progress in the case. training of women in jails of M.P.

o   Comprehensive PIL on legal aid system and on prison staff should be filled. Prisoners of unsound mind shall specially be considered.

SC ordered trial court to deliver verdict in Kandhamal nun rape case

HRLN has filed a Special Leave Petition which challenged the final order judgment of the Orissa High Court dated 5.1.12 in CRL.M.C No. 1746 of 2011 wherein the Hon'rble High Court dismissed the Petition filed by the Petitioner.

On 25.8.08 at the height of the communal riots in Kandhamaal Orissathat had occurred in the tribal-dominated district in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati at the Jalespata Ashram on 23.8.08., the Petitoner and others were attacked by a mob that molested the petitioner, assaulted her & was gang raped and paraded semi-naked through the streets two days in Kandhamal. During that time she did not knew the names of her assailants or of the persons who raped her, but she was able to identify them.

The court had in February last year(2012) stayed the trial on a plea by the Petitioner, who challenged the prosecution's failure to cross-examine a judicial magistrate, failure of which she claimed helped the accused persons. As per the victim, the magistrate had withheld some of the accusatory statements she had made against one of the accused person when he took the witness box.

A bench led by Justice S S Nijjar allowed the nun's appeal, argued through senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, and set aside the orders passed by the trial court and the high court. The lower courts had held that she had no right to seek recalling a witness for cross-examination and that she must have faith in justice delivery system.

The bench reminded the courts that "in criminal jurisprudence, while the offence is against the society, it is the unfortunate victim who is the actual sufferer and therefore, it is imperative for the State and the prosecution to ensure that no stone is left unturned. It is also the equal, if not more, the duty and responsibility of the Court to be alive and alert in the course of trial of a criminal case and ensure that the evidence recorded in accordance with law reflect every bit of vital information placed before it."

"The whole scheme of the Code of Criminal Procedure envisages foolproof system in dealing with a crime alleged against the accused and thereby ensure that the guilty does not escape and innocent is not punished" it noted.

The Hon'rble Supreme court has given its judgment and as directed to the trial court to recall the magistrate for cross-examination once again and said that the trial court should conclude the proceedings in accordance with law expeditiously, preferably within three months from the date of this order.