They are 'guilty till proved innocent'

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JUNE 30. Languishing in the barracks, six years of Pratap Kumar's life have been consumed by 11 cases in which he has been acquitted. Another four cases pending against him are yet to see the light of day in a court.

Pratap is not the only one facing this ordeal. As many as 6,779 undertrials (December 1999 figures) in the State have become victims of delay in dispensing justice. Myriad factors barricade the process of justice, prolonging the time between arrest and sentence/acquittal.

Mr. L. Revannasiddiah, Director General of Police, Prisons, told The Hindu that various reasons hampered the trial. Although the law makes provisions for conviction or acquittal of an undertrial within three months of the chargesheet being filed, the ground reality is different.

The shortage of police escorts is one reason that prolongs the proceedings, says Raju, who has been lodged in the Bangalore Central Jail for the last six years.

Another problem is animosity between jail mates who take liberty in continuing their fights while in custody. An example is an incident of 1996 in which Balram was murdered. The result was an internal crisis in the administration of the Central Jail.

Although the number of prisoners for whom escorts could not be provided for being produced in courts has dipped from 5,909 in August 1999 to 803 in March 2000, the problem persists. Mr. Revannasiddiah says: ``Policing is not a very planned subject, and a lot of ad hocism prevails.''

At least 120 policemen have to be deployed as escorts for a city such as Bangalore. At present, the Bangalore City Police depute 60 policemen who constitute the escort team. The same team is also used to transport cash from the treasury.

As in Western countries privatisation of escort duty should be considered, at least for civil prisoners, he feels. A proposal to increase the number of policemen on escort duty is under consideration.

The Bangalore Central Jail houses 2,142 prisoners of whom 230 are convicts. Of the 1912 undertrials, 42 are women.

Freedom is near yet so far for Sarita imprisoned in the jail for two years now. She is too poor to put up the bail amount for her release.

If the escort factor is taking its toll, the inability of the prisoners to meet bail conditions also aggravates the situation. In addition, failure by witnesses to appear when summoned, multiplicity of cases and late disposal of cases by courts leave the undertrials trapped in ``dates'' (adjournments).

In view of these myriad problems, the delay in disposal of cases makes life in prison a saga of untold suffering for the prisoners. Further, the Government has to bear the expenditure caused by the delay.

Mr. H. Jayaramiah, Senior Superintendent of Central Prison, says, that a lion's share of the expenditure is on undertrials. As the law does not provide for undertrials working, the Government often bears Rs. 55 to Rs. 60 it spends on each prisoner per day.

Despite the fact that undertrials who volunteer to work are monetarily rewarded, they often keep away fearing permanent confinement.

Apart from this, the traditional vocations of weaving or carpentry leave little scope for expression of creativity. As many as 26 undertrials are learning the basics of computers.

The inmates are left in the lurch as the buck passes. As Raju laments, ``I have spent six years of my life here. Whatever be the causes, can I ever get them back? I only hope I get out as early as possible.'' As he is innocent until proved guilty, he certainly has the right to that hope.

The Bangalore Central Jail which has the largest number of undertrials in the State.

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