Hope at last for undertrials

Jagjivan Ram Yadav of Faizabad spent more than 38 years in jail, though his case was never heard in court. He fell into the black hole of being ‘under trial’. He was arrested in 1968 on a charge of murdering his neighbour’s wife, but the police did not have the evidence to commit him to trial. If a court had found him guilty of murder he would have spent 14 years in jail. Instead, he was simply locked up and forgotten.

Yadav’s 38-year penance is the worst possible indictment of the justice system. It is a crime almost worse than murder. He was virtually buried alive. It may be an extreme example, but a great many undertrials — arrested for petty crimes — spend more time in jail than their offence warrants because they are unaware of their rights and lack legal assistance. According to one estimate 70 per cent of the inmates in Indian prisons are undertrials waiting, sometimes for years, to face the court.

Against this background, the Union government’s decision to speed up the release of more than 1.25 lakh under trial prisoners comes not a day too soon. Law Minister Veerappa Moily has asked the judiciary to complete the process within six months. The mission will start on January 26 — ‘Law Day’.

The mission should be commended in the highest terms, but is it possible to secure the release of more than 1.25 lakh prisoners before July 31? The judiciary is stretched thin and understaffed. Given these circumstances it would be a tall order to meet the six-month deadline.

However, there is hope as the ministry has made the suggestions after consulting the CJI and chief justices of the high courts. It should be noted that the CJI had observed last August at a conference of chief ministers and chief justices that “If they had served more than half the sentence likely to be awarded for their crime, such undertrials could be immediately released on personal bond.”

While the release of these undertrials is to be welcomed, it cannot be a one-off gesture to ease the congestion in jails. This has to be about ensuring justice. Jagjivan Ram spent the prime of his life behind bars, and if we are to see an end to such crimes, there must be a failsafe mechanism to ensure that the system will not allow any more Jagjivan Rams to fall into the dark places from which there is no return.