NHRC Chief request Chief Justices of High Courts
to review the situation of undertrial prisoners
New Delhi, 16 September 2005
Stating that the congestion of undertrial prisoners is the predominant cause of all the ailment and problems in the country's jails, Dr. Justice A.S. Anand, Chairperson NHRC has requested the Chief Justices of the High Courts of all the States/UTs to carry out a broad review of the undertrial prisoner status in the area under their jurisdiction. In his letter dated 8 September 2005, Justice Anand stated that the NHRC continues to conduct biannual analysis of prison population and undertrial prisoner (UTP) situation by obtaining data of prison population from all the States and Union Territories as on 30th June and 31st December of each year. Besides this, Members and Special Rapporteurs of the Commission visit jails and compile reports from which the Commission has observed that the undertrial prisoners situation has improved considerably in those States/Union Territories where certain measures are being tried with seriousness and sincerity. These measures being
· Regular visits of Districts and Sessions Judge to jails in accordance with the provisions of the jail manual
· Holding of special courts in jail
· Activation of the State and District Legal Authorities
· Video conferencing
· Release of UTPs on personal bonds
It has been found that the regular visits by District and Sessions Judges to jails have resulted in identifying cases of UTPs, pending for unduly long periods for various reasons and requiring special, urgent attention. A number of such cases have been transferred to the Fast Track Courts by the visiting District Judge and Sessions Judge. Regular reviews of the UTPs by them seem to have improved the production rate of UTPs before the courts.
While the holding of special courts in jails is being tried effectively in a number of States to dispose of the cases of UTPs involved in petty offences, a few States have still not put this simple measure into practice as noticed by the NHRC. In some States dedicated Remand Courts have been set up which meets once or twice a week on the prison's premises.
The Commission has recently started forwarding to the State and District Legal Service Authorities the cases of long standing UTPs identified by the Members and the Special Rapporteurs during their jail visits. The response received from these authorities is fairly encouraging and promises still better results with the personal involvement of the Chief Justice of the High Court.
Video Conferencing by linking important jails with their Courts has been introduced with good results in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi and a few other States. This technological measure has been found very useful in substantially solving the problem of inadequate availability of police escort and has ensured faster processing of remand cases.
Although progress is being noticed in some States the subordinate courts are generally found reluctant to make use of the provision of releasing UTPs on personal bonds. The Supreme Court of India has emphasized the utility and importance of this provision time and again.
In his letter, Justice Anand asked the Chief Justices to assess the extent to which the above measures have been tried in the area of their jurisdiction and the results achieved. He said that he had no doubt that the concern of the Chief Justices in this matter is no less than his and that they are taking personal interest in addressing the congestion of UTPs. He cited the latest analysis of the prison population done by the NHRC as of 30th June 2004 saying that it has shown that there has been a slight improvement in the overall situation. The analysis revealed that -
· The prison population reported as 3,36,152 on 30th June 2004 shows an increase of 10.28% over the prison population reported as 3,04,813 on 30th June 2002; the overall jail capacity during the period has increased from 2,32,412 to 2,37,617 giving a rise of just 2.24%.
· There has been a significant rise in the overcrowding in jails in the country as a whole. It was 41.47% on 30 June 2004 as compared to 31.2% as on 30 June 2002. As many as 11 States/UTs continue to have overcrowding in jails higher than the national average with States like Delhi, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat holding prison population two or three times of their total capacity.
· The UTPs constituted 75% of the prison population in the country as a whole as of 30th June 2002; their proportion in overall population has come down to 71.14% on 30th June 2004.
This is a happy trend achieved largely as a result of the interest taken by the judicial authorities at various levels, of course under the inspiring leadership of the Chief Justices of the High Courts.
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Stating that the congestion of undertrial prisoners is the predominant cause of all the ailment and problems in the country's jails, Dr. Justice A.S. Anand, Chairperson NHRC has requested the Chief Justices of the High Courts of all the States/UTs to carry out a broad review of the undertrial prisoner status in the area under their jurisdiction. In his letter dated 8 September 2005, Justice Anand stated that the NHRC continues to conduct biannual analysis of prison population and undertrial prisoner (UTP) situation by obtaining data of prison population from all the States and Union Territories as on 30th June and 31st December of each year. Besides this, Members and Special Rapporteurs of the Commission visit jails and compile reports from which the Commission has observed that the undertrial prisoners situation has improved considerably in those States/Union Territories where certain measures are being tried with seriousness and sincerity. These measures being
· Regular visits of Districts and Sessions Judge to jails in accordance with the provisions of the jail manual
· Holding of special courts in jail
· Activation of the State and District Legal Authorities
· Video conferencing
· Release of UTPs on personal bonds
It has been found that the regular visits by District and Sessions Judges to jails have resulted in identifying cases of UTPs, pending for unduly long periods for various reasons and requiring special, urgent attention. A number of such cases have been transferred to the Fast Track Courts by the visiting District Judge and Sessions Judge. Regular reviews of the UTPs by them seem to have improved the production rate of UTPs before the courts.
While the holding of special courts in jails is being tried effectively in a number of States to dispose of the cases of UTPs involved in petty offences, a few States have still not put this simple measure into practice as noticed by the NHRC. In some States dedicated Remand Courts have been set up which meets once or twice a week on the prison's premises.
The Commission has recently started forwarding to the State and District Legal Service Authorities the cases of long standing UTPs identified by the Members and the Special Rapporteurs during their jail visits. The response received from these authorities is fairly encouraging and promises still better results with the personal involvement of the Chief Justice of the High Court.
Video Conferencing by linking important jails with their Courts has been introduced with good results in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi and a few other States. This technological measure has been found very useful in substantially solving the problem of inadequate availability of police escort and has ensured faster processing of remand cases.
Although progress is being noticed in some States the subordinate courts are generally found reluctant to make use of the provision of releasing UTPs on personal bonds. The Supreme Court of India has emphasized the utility and importance of this provision time and again.
In his letter, Justice Anand asked the Chief Justices to assess the extent to which the above measures have been tried in the area of their jurisdiction and the results achieved. He said that he had no doubt that the concern of the Chief Justices in this matter is no less than his and that they are taking personal interest in addressing the congestion of UTPs. He cited the latest analysis of the prison population done by the NHRC as of 30th June 2004 saying that it has shown that there has been a slight improvement in the overall situation. The analysis revealed that -
· The prison population reported as 3,36,152 on 30th June 2004 shows an increase of 10.28% over the prison population reported as 3,04,813 on 30th June 2002; the overall jail capacity during the period has increased from 2,32,412 to 2,37,617 giving a rise of just 2.24%.
· There has been a significant rise in the overcrowding in jails in the country as a whole. It was 41.47% on 30 June 2004 as compared to 31.2% as on 30 June 2002. As many as 11 States/UTs continue to have overcrowding in jails higher than the national average with States like Delhi, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat holding prison population two or three times of their total capacity.
· The UTPs constituted 75% of the prison population in the country as a whole as of 30th June 2002; their proportion in overall population has come down to 71.14% on 30th June 2004.
This is a happy trend achieved largely as a result of the interest taken by the judicial authorities at various levels, of course under the inspiring leadership of the Chief Justices of the High Courts.
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