SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
In a recent landmark order in Bhim Singh vs Union of India, the Supreme Court directed the fast-tracking of criminal cases, and the release of undertrial prisoners who had completed at least half their maximum prison term pursuant to Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Bringing attention to the plight of those languishing in prison while awaiting trial, the court’s order coincides with the Narendra Modi government’s mandate to decongest prisons by releasing undertrials.
First, India has one of the lowest police-population ratios, of 131.1 officers per 1,00,000 population (against the UN norms of 222)
While laudable, these measures reiterate previous judicial directives (SC Legal Aid Committee vs UoI; Rama Murthy vs State of Karnataka) and Law Commission reports (78th and 239th). Releasing undertrials is a short-term solution; as explained below, it does not address the underlying causes for the high proportion of undertrials in India.
Pre-trial detention is a real problem. More than 66 per cent of India’s prisoners are undertrials, which is over twice the global average of 32 per cent. Of these 2,54,857 undertrials, more than 2,000 have been in prison for over five years. Overburdened by the flood of arrestees (nearly 75 lakh were arrested in 2012, according to the National Crime Records Bureau), prisons have experienced an increase in the number of undertrials and overcrowding. The average occupancy rate in India’s prisons is 112.2 per cent, with the situation particularly dire in states such as Chhattisgarh (252.6 per cent) and Delhi (193.8 per cent).
Unfortunately, reforms have favoured measurable quick fixes — fast-track courts and greater judge-population/ police-population ratios — without attempting to understand the high incidence of pre-trial detention. This can be explained by, first, criminal justice functionaries (police, prosecutors, judges and prison officials), who are often overworked, understaffed and underpaid; second, the socio-economic profile of the undertrials, which affects their ability to post bail; and finally, an ineffective legal aid system.
First, India has one of the lowest police-population ratios, of 131.1 officers per 1,00,000 population (against the UN norms of 222).
Corruption is also an endemic problem; in 2013, Transparency International found that 62 per cent people reported paying bribes during their interactions with the police. Misaligned incentives to arrest persons (for example, to demonstrate the progress of investigations) have resulted in 60 per cent of all arrests being “unnecessary or unjustified”.
Prosecutors lack basic facilities, such as access to legal databases, research and administrative assistants. The Delhi High Court, in a March 2014 order, noted that prosecutors’ laptop allowances exclude payment for internet facilities and legal databases; they do not have exclusive office space in courts and lose files because of insufficient file space. As the court observed, “one of the predominant cause(s) for delay in disposal of criminal case is due to shortage of public prosecutors.”
India has around 15 judges per million population, despite the 2002 Supreme Court order, in All India Judges’ Association, directing an increase to 50 judges per million by 2007.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
