right to legal aid & access to justice the state of undertrials in alwar prison of rajasthan
DESCRIPTION
17,477 Rajasthan ’ s prison population as on 1 March 2012TRANSCRIPT
Right to Legal Aid & Access to JusticeThe state of Undertrials in Alwar Prison of Rajasthan
IntroductionWhat is to be addressed
17,477Rajasthan’s prison population as on 1 March 2012
11,954Number of Undertrials
5,523Number of Convicts
MandateAgencies of Criminal Justice System
Keeping Liberty as Paramount…JUDICIARY
To ensure speedy trial based on fair trial standards
PRISON
To facilitate timely production of Undertrials in Court & inform Undertrials about next production date
POLICE
LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY To ensure access to counsel at the earliest to any person
in custody
To ensure timely filing of chargesheet & availability of police escorts for court production
LAWYER
To provide effective legal representation to his/her client
ResearchOur findings
The Study
STUDY SAMPLE
Interviewed 345 Undertrials in Alwar Prison of Rajasthan
Objectives of the Study
1 To examine the state of legal aid in the district
2 To collect empirical data to identify major problems faced by Undertrials
3 To examine the implementation of legal provisions
To use evidenced based advocacy to institutionalise mechanisms that check unnecessary detention
Objectives of the Study…
First production before the magistrate
Access to lawyer
Scope of the Study
Access to free legal services
Quality of legal representation
Production before the court
Socio-economic background of the undertrial population
Period of remand and detention
Implementation of legal provisions – bail & plea bargaining
Knowledge of undertrials on basic legal provisions & trial status
Age Education
Caste
Socio-economic background
51% were sole earners in their family Out of which 39% earned between Rs.1000-5000 ($20-100) per month
Families of 9 inmates did not know that they are in prison
67% fall in 18-30 years age-group 32% are illiterate
55% belong to socially & economically backward classes of the society
First Production before Magistrate
60% were not produced within the statutory limit of 24 hours!
Access to Lawyer
40 inmates did not have a lawyer!
First Access
Only 5% had access to counsel at the time of arrest
Kind ofLawyer
Only 10 inmates had legal aid lawyers
Periodicity Place
Time permeeting
Meeting with Lawyer
No place for lawyer-client interaction within jail premisesLawyer-client communication happen only through families
60 inmates have never met their lawyers
59% meet their lawyer only in Court at the time of hearing
More than 60% usually meet their lawyer for less than 15 min.
Quality of Legal Representation
1 out of 10 inmates having legal aid lawyer complained of the lawyer demanding money from the client
PresenceIn Court
30 inmates complained that their lawyers were never present in Court
Informationprovided
36% are not satisfied by services provided by their lawyers
Period of Remand & Detention
Period of remand was never extended to less than 14 days! No production in Additional District Judge’s Court, Behror which was vacant since July 2010
18 inmates have been in prison for more than a year as Undertrials!
Production in Court
About 30% court productions do not take place because of lack of Police Escorts!
Reasons for Non-production
Production in Court
30.5% are only taken to court but never produced before the Magistrate14% could not even differentiate between taking to court and effective production
Only taken to Court but never produced
Sometimes produced
Always produced
Don’t know
Are inmates actually produced before the magistrate or locked up in Court lock-up?
Knowledge of Inmates
* 75 inmates did not apply for bail. Data shows only those who had applied for bail.** Undertrial’s right to be released on personal bond if half of the maximum period of imprisonment is completed in judicial custody. *** 274 inmates were ineligible for Plea Bargaining. Data shows only those who were eligible.
53% did not know about right to free legal services from the State20% were unaware whether their lawyer had ever applied for bail
70% did not know why their bail was rejected by the Court
Strategic Future Interventions
Thank you!
Prison Reforms Programme
Behind Bars Not Beyond Justice
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative