Challenges in Pre-Trial Detention: Insights and Initiatives

PRISON REFORMS ISSUES CONCERNING PRE-TRIAL DETENTION

Swadhikaar A legal aid initiative of CHRI & NLU, Jodhpur ( Earlier) Who To work towards significant reduction in unnecessary detention on remand ( number, frequency and duration) by identifying and thus assisting under trials in need of legal assistance and counsel. Why Since 11thAugust 12, the Swadhikaar team has initiated a system of regular prison visits by CHRI staff lawyers and had 25 visits so far. How We have interviewed 372 inmates since August 12 and in 120 cases where the inmates did not have legal representation, letters have been sent to DLSA for appointment of lawyers . What

First Production First Production Within 24 hours 2nd day 3rd Day 4th Day 5th Day 6th Day 7th Day 8,9,10,11,12,16,38 No Answer/Data Total Total Responses ( 372-52) Beyond 24 hours( 320-188) Numbers 188 40 31 21 20 5 7 1,1,1,1,2,1,1 52 372 320 132 No First Production of Under-trials within 24 hours in 40 % of the cases.

Early Access to Counsel & Legal Aid- Lawyers Appointment First Access to Lawyer At Arrest Police Custody First Production Second Production Subsequent Production After Chargesheet No Legal Representation Results 41 24 16 10 9 6 140 Inadequate Information Total Number 126 372 Access to counsel until first production only in 33% cases. No Legal Representation in 140 cases. 120 cases referred to DLSA & confirmation on appointment of lawyers from DLSA in more than 70 cases

Remand Practices Remand Period ( Days) More than 30 Days 1 to 10 Days 11 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days Total 104 Pre Chargesheet 14 73 10 7 59 Post Chargesheet 8 24 8 19 Total 163 22 97 18 26 Out of the 104 Pre-charge-sheet cases, in 17 cases, the remand period was more than 15 days which is a clear violation of Section 167 (2) Out of the 104 Pre- charge sheet cases , 39% cases were remanded on the 14th & 15th day. Out of the 59 Post- Charge sheet cases, in 27 ( 45%) cases, the remand period was more than 15 days which is a clear violation of Section 309 (2)

Court Production Practice Alwar Court Production Study : CHRI filed an RTI in Alwar district prisons to analyse the Court production practices in Alwar courts. Following information sought: (i) Production Warrants of under trial prisoners who had completed 1 year or more in prison as on 18 Oct 11 (ii) Police Escorts Requisition forms for a quarter (1 June-30 Sept 11) We observed 56 cases of 40 under trials and the results of our analysis showed that out of 740 productions ordered by the court, only 427 actual productions took place. Lack of police escorts accounted to 30% of non - production. Also, while the average remand gap ordered by the court was 27 days, due to this systemic non-production, the average gap between two productions was as high as 47 days. Jodhpur Court Production Situation: Jodhpur Central Jail: Letter dated 2ndMay 13 by the Jail Superintendent, Jodhpur Central jail to the IPS, Police Commissioner, Jodhpur Metropolitan, Jodhpur. clearly underscores that shortage of police escorts is a systemic issue in Jodhpur. The letter mentions that observation of two months data reveals that 67% productions of under-trials in jodhpur central jail do not take place due to shortage of police escorts.

Vulnerable Categories Behind Bars Disabled Physical and Mental ( Baluram) Poor and Indigent ( Balesar Case) Juveniles ( 17 year old) Terminally Ill ( AIDS case) Elderly ( Permanent Parole) Foreign Nationals ( Meer Vize) Death Row Prisoners Women Children of mothers in Prisoners Caste and Other minorities LGBTQ

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