Chief Justice visits Tihar

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JULY 29.

In the first visit by a Chief Justice of India to Tihar Central Jail, Dr Justice A.S. Anand today reviewed the progress of special courts for undertrials, listened to the grievances of the prisoners in Asia's largest prison complex and called for speedy trial of cases.

Accompanied by a host of legal luminaries, who included Judge of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice S.P. Bharucha, the Union Minister for Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Mr Arun Jaitley, the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat, president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Mr Kapil Sibal and noted criminal lawyer and secretary SCBA, Mr Ashok Arora, the Chief Justice spent over two hours in Tihar Jail.

Upon his arrival at around 11 a.m., Dr. Justice Anand was taken to Jail No. 2, where a special function was organised in which all the invitees spoke extensively on jail reforms and special courts.

Dr Justice Anand said two years ago he was shocked when he learnt that a large number of undertrial prisoners lodged in jail comprised those who had not committed any serious offence and were still incarcerated since they were poor or unable to furnish bail. Subsequently, he said the idea to hold Special Courts in jails for speedy disposal of cases of undertrial prisoners involved in petty offences was conceptualised and implemented.

Since, Dr Justice Anand said 8,000 such cases have been disposed off. The scheme, he pointed out has helped reduce overcrowding in jails and saved the justice delivery system much criticism.

Calling for ``care, compassion and human dignity'' towards prisoners, the Chief Justice stressed the need for special care of women prisoners who have to keep their babies with them. ``These children must be provided proper and healthy environment to grow, for they have not committed any crime and are in jail on account of circumstances beyond their control.

The Chief Justice declared that the rights of inmates to access to a court, to legal advice and to communicate confidentially with a lawyer must be safeguarded under all circumstances.

Stating that the slow pace of disposal of cases is a cause for concern, Dr Justice Anand said this was primarily due to low judge strength and lack of infrastructure facilities in the subordinate courts on account of lack of resources.

As such, he said, 1999 was declared `Year of Action' and all High Courts were requested to ensure expeditious disposal of more than seven-year-old cases pending in subordinate courts. The result: over 8 lakhs such cases were disposed off. Similarly, another 48,000 cases pertaining to senior citizens were brought to a conclusion.

Making a mention of Lok Adalats, he said they had disposed of over 18 lakh cases in 2000 as against 9 lakh cases in the previous year. And now steps are afoot to give more powers to Lok Adalats through introduction of some amendments in Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.

Mr Arun Jaitley said those in jails should be the first to receive justice. Pointing out that something needed to be done urgently to address the cause of 1.8 lakh undertrials languishing in jails, he said, they should be encouraged to lead a normal life within the prison.

Asserting that most undertrials were victims of circumstances and not violators of law, the Minister urged the media to show restraint while reporting on them. He made the remarks after an undertrial woman prisoner ``complained'' that the media pronounced undertrials guilty even before they had been tried.

Mr Justice Pasayat assured that the Delhi High Court would endeavour to dispose off the maximum number of cases at the earliest. Mr Sibal said that ``no one is born a criminal'' and the need is to focus on the reason behind the crime. He defended the creation of jails for ensuring peace in society.

After the function, the dignitaries were taken around the jail premises by the Director General (Prisons), Mr Ajay Agrawal. They were shown various aspects of prison reforms including the `Jail Factory', where the confectionery, carpentry, cardboard-making and handicraft units are located.

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