http://www.tehelka.com/more-undertrials-than-convicts-in-up-jails/2/
The prisons are bursting at the seams as poor undertrials are unable to afford lawyers and bail bonds, says Virendra Nath Bhatt
No way out? 55,000 of the 81,000 inmates in UP’s jails are undertrials. Photo: AFP
The Uttar Pradesh government seems to have turned a blind eye to the
plight of undertrials languishing in the state’s jails. Of the 81,000
inmates in jails across the state, over 55,000 are undertrials. The
jails are extremely overcrowded as they are meant to house only 48,298
inmates, including both convicts and undertrials.
Barring the district jails of Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and
Meerut, all other jails house more inmates than their capacity. This was
revealed by the state’s jail department in response to a query filed by
RTI activist Urvashi Sharma.
“I had sought details of how many undertrials are still imprisoned in
various jails even after completing half of the maximum sentence
specified for the crimes they are charged with,” says Sharma. “The
government initially refused to share the information, but after I filed
an appeal, I was told that details are being gathered from every
district jail.”
As per Section 436(A) of the Criminal Procedure Code, an undertrial
cannot be incarcerated for a period longer than 50 percent of the
maximum sentence specified for the crimes of which they are accused. The
law allows them to be released by the court on providing personal
bonds.
According to the incomplete information provided by the jail
department, there are 22 such prisoners in Gorakhpur, 17 in Bijnor, 11
in Etah, five in Fatehpur, four in Jaunpur, four in Lakhimpur and one in
Shahjahanpur district jails.
“The state government is violating the undertrials’ rights by not
facilitating their release,” says Sharma. “These are poor people who
cannot afford to hire lawyers or arrange surety for the bail bonds. The
authorities in every district jail should prepare a list of such inmates
every month and display it on the notice board. The lists should also
be sent to the district prosecution officers and the state government so
that the situation can be constantly monitored.”
Sharma adds that it is the jail administration’s duty to inform such
undertrials of the charges against them and the maximum sentence, so
that during their appearance in court they can request the judge to
order their release on personal bonds without any surety. “The least the
administration is expected to do is to inform the undertrials of the
status of their case and the mechanism for their release,” she says.
“Compliance with Section 436(A) of the CrPC will also help reduce the
overcrowding of jails.”
Jail Minister Rajendra Chaudhary, however, denies that the government
has any role in the release of undertrials. “The jail administration is
doing all that the law demands of it,” claims Chaudhary.
The state government hopes to solve the problem of overcrowding by
constructing more jails. “Twelve new jails are under construction and
will be ready by the end of 2014 to house another 25,000 inmates,” says
Chaudhary.
Sharma points out that in the past three years, the capacity of jails
has been increased to house only 3,859 more inmates. “Successive
governments in Uttar Pradesh have only made tall claims of jail
reforms,” says Sharma. “Overcrowding of jails is the single biggest
cause of human rights violations in the state.”
Of the total 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh, only 65 have district
jails. In most of the district jails, undertrials form an overwhelming
majority of the inmates. Of the total 594 prisoners in the district jail
of Ghaziabad — the jail minister’s home district — as many as 532 are
undertrials. In Mau district jail, 402 of the 494 inmates are
undertrials, and in Balrampur district jail, 243 of the 284 inmates are
undertrials.
“Past experience shows us that most of the undertrials will not be
convicted in the end. Yet they are left to languish in overcrowded
prisons for years just because they are poor. The worst suffering is
endured by those who belong to other states like Jammu & Kashmir
and are lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh on terror charges,” says SR
Darapuri, former additional director of police and now a human rights
activist.
(Published in Tehelka Magazine, Volume 10 Issue 46, Dated 16 November 2013)
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