PRISONER’S RIGHTS

LEGAL AID

&

PRISON REFORMS

Presented by:

(Sanjeev Jain)

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future” – Oscar Wilde

FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES

• Arrest

• Bail

• Fair Trial

• Sentencing

• Rights of Convicts

ON ARREST

Assignment of Remand Advocate

Remand Advocates assigned to all the Magisterial &

Sessions Courts so that no accused remains

unrepresented before any Criminal Court during JC/PC

remand.

FOR BAIL

• Referred to Under Trial Review

Committee

• Benefit of Section 436A Cr.P.C.

• Benefit of Section 437(6) Cr.P.C.

• Benefit of Section 428 Cr.P.C.

LEGAL SERVICES CLINICS IN JAIL

• Clinic run by Delhi State Legal Services Authority for providing free legal aid and advice.

• Free legal aid services to inmates from 3 pm to 7 pm on all working days.

• Inmates serving long term sentences as Para Legal Volunteers

JAIL VISITING ADVOCATES

• Interacts with jail inmates

• Take appropriate steps regarding

grievances of inmates

• Drafting bail applications/petitions

through the Secretary of DLSAs

LEGAL AWARENESS

• DSLSA conducts Legal Literacy classes in Jail to educate inmates about their rights and availability of free legal aid services.

• Legal Literacy classes on Plea-Bargaining

• Spread awareness on Parole, Furlough, Legal aid etc.

E-KIOSK

• To access the status of all the pending cases of inmates before High Court and its Subordinate Courts

• e-Kiosk also installed in the “Chakkar” area provided the internet access to retrieve the real time updated information to the jail inmates

• Facilitating the updation of info qua the pendency of appeals/trial etc.

PRISON MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• Records the complete details of each inmates lodged in Jail

• Electronic mode of “Jail Custody Warrant”

• Uploads the day to day Court‟s proceedings of inmates facing trial

• Trigger the alert qua such inmates where the minimum period undergone by the prisoners as requisite u/s 436A Cr.PC is completed.

MONITORING COMMITTEE

• Monitoring Committee at the level of

High Court Legal Services Committee

• Monitoring Committee for DSLSA

• Monitoring Committee for District Legal

Services Authorities

• Appointment of Ombudsman /

Monitoring Consultant

FUNCTIONS OF MONITORING

COMMITTEE

• Maintain the records of day to day progress of the legal aid cases

• Keep a watch on the day to day proceedings in the courts by calling the reports from the panel lawyers/retainers

• If the progress of case is not satisfactory, Monitoring Committee may advice the legal aid advocates.

INSPECTION/VISIT TO JAILS &

OBSERVATION HOMES

• Regular visits of Secretaries of DLSA

in Jails and Observation Homes in

order to ensure that legal rights of

the inmates are not violated on

account of lack of information and

assistance.

RIGHTS OF CONVICTS

• Effective Legal Advise during Investigation /

Trial

• Appeals

• Awareness of Legal Rights

• Jail conditions/Facilities

• Skill/Training/Education of UTPs

• Rehabilitation

ROLE & ACTIVITY OF DSLSA

• Provision of Translators /

Interpreters in Women‟s Jail

ACCESS OF LSA TO WARDS OF

JAILS

• Access to Mulahiza Ward and other Wards in

all the jails to provide Legal Services to

inmates.

APPEALS

• To prepare and submit grounds of appeal

immediately after passing of the judgment of

conviction not later than 10 days.

COMPENDIUM

• Proposal of making a software having a

Master Compendium of all Convictions

recorded in Delhi by Session Courts which

would be accessible online to DHCLSC &

DLSAs from Central Office, DSLSA.

GRIEVANCE SLIPS TO UTP

• „Grievances Slip‟ qua issues raised by the

UTP/Convicts for making any complaint

against the LSA or suggestion, if any.

TELEPHONE CALLS

• Jail Authorities have been requested to allow

each inmate to make a call on atleast two

phone numbers for 5-10 minutes each within

24 hours of inmate entering Jail or in case of

change in Jail number so that family would

come to know of his/her whereabouts.

EFFECTIVE LEGAL AID IN CASES

• All the Courts having criminal jurisdiction to

ensure that the UTPs are provided effective

legal representation and wherever the private

counsel are absent or not coming forward,

the services of empanelled LSA may be

obtained.

HUMAN RIGHTS/MEDICAL AID

• Legal Services Advocates are sensitized that

they should have regarded to all issues

concerning the prisoners as regards issues

concerning human rights including issue

concerning medical treatment and facilities

provided to an individual or to the inmates in

general in jail.

STATUS OF JAILS

• There are 9 Jails in Tihar Jail Complex.

• One Jail at Rohini.

• Jail No.6 is meant for Women prisoners.

• Jail No.7 is meant for Adolescent Under Trial

Prisoners.

• The capacity of the Jail is to accommodate 6250

inmates and as on today 14472 number of inmates

are lodged.

ADOPTION OF JAILS &

OBSERVATION HOMES

• Under the Project of the Year 2013-2014 onwards,

DSLSA has adopted all the Jails in Delhi as also the

Observation Homes.

• In each Jail, 3-4 legal aid counsels have been deputed for providing free legal aid services to inmates from 3 PM to 7 PM on all working days.

• DSLSA has also set up a Legal Aid and Counselling Centre at Tihar jail to supervise the functioning of all the Legal Aid Centres in Jails.

• DSLSA has also trained 170 inmates serving long term sentences as Para Legal Volunteers and they are assisting the Legal Aid Centres established at Jails.

BENEFITS

• The data uploaded can be accessed through the e-kiosk in the Legal Services Clinics

• LSAs can provide quality and effective legal aid services

• Delhi Police can too have access

• Filtering of cases falling in category of section 436A Cr.PC – facilitating work of Under Trial Review Committee

• Facilitating identification of probable juveniles

JUVENILES IN ADULT JAILS

• Teams of DSLSA/NCPCR visit all the jails in

Delhi on monthly basis to identify suspected

juveniles. DSLSA has been appointed as a

Nodal Agency to ensure that the directions

passed by the Hon‟ble High Court of Delhi that

juveniles are not lodged in regular jails

alongwith adults and are dealt with only under

Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.

BAIL BOND CASES

• The Hon‟ble High Court in W.P. (C) 3465/2010, D.M. Bhalla Vs. State, appointed the DSLSA to monitor the communication of bail orders passed by the Courts to the Jails, to ensure that jail inmates know that bail has been granted to them. Periodic reports have been submitted to the Hon‟ble High Court in respect of the number of accused persons/convicts enlarged on bail after these orders have been passed. The Jail authorities are required to submit information to the DSLSA regularly. Secretaries of DLSAs have been directed to ensure that no one in whose favour a bail order exists continues to languish in jail.

TIMELY FILING OF APPEAL OF CONVICTS

• DSLSA was assigned the task to ascertain as to why appeals of convicts detained in jail are not filed timely. It was found by DSLSA that Trial Court record was not being supplied to Legal Services Counsel in time. Therefore, a system has been established whereby external Hard Disks have been supplied to all District Legal Services Authorities with a direction to obtain digital scanned copy of entire file of all the decided Criminal Sessions cases from District Court Administration and transmit the same to the High Capacity Master Hard Disks installed at Jail Section, DSLSA, High Court Legal Services Committee and Central Office, DSLSA from where lawyers are being supplied CDs of entire trial court file including chargesheet, evidence, judgment and order on sentence.

SCHEME FOR WELFARE OF CHILDREN WHOSE

PARENTS ARE IN JAIL

• Delhi State Legal Services Authority was directed to send its recommendation on the scheme framed by Department of Women and Child Development, GNCT of Delhi regarding Welfare of children whose parents are in Jail. DSLSA finally prepared a “Scheme of “Financial Sustenance, Education and Welfare of Children, 2013” for children of incarcerated earning parent. This scheme has been notified by Hon'ble the Lieutenant Governor on 13.08.2014 and has now been made a Law.

DATA OF JUVENILES IN CONFLICT WITH LAW

BENEFITED FROM FREE LEGAL SERVICES

CALENDER YEAR JCLs benefitted from free Legal Services

2012 1155

2013 1908

2014 3175

2015 2991

TOTAL 9229

DATA OF JUVENILES IN NEED OF CARE &

PROTECTION BENEFITED FROM FREE LEGAL

SERVICES CALENDER YEAR Juveniles in need of care & Protection

benefitted from free Legal Services

2012 1337

2013 1876

2014 4952

2015 4842

TOTAL 13007

DATA OF UTPS/CONVICTS WHO RECEIVED LEGAL

AID

CALENDER YEAR No. of times inmates availed free legal

services

2012 30,400

2013 41300

2014 45,700

2015 53,546

TOTAL 1,70,946

DATA OF BENEFICIARIES OF UNDER TRIAL

REVIEW COMMITTEE

• Total number of cases of UTPs taken by Under

Trial Review Committee : 228

• Total number of cases in which Under Trial

Review Committee has recommended to move

bail applications : 150

DATA OF PETITIONS FILED IN HIGH COURT &

DISTRICT COURT BY UTPS

CALENDER YEAR Number of Petitions filed in

High Court

Number of Petitions filed in

District Court

2014 2200 2458

2015 2206 3181

TOTAL 4406 5639

• Total number of Jail Visiting Advocates : 65

• Total number of advocates in JJBs : 14

• Total number of advocates in Observation

Homes : 20

THANK YOU