Two-thirds of the prisoners in India’s jails are those who fall under the category of undertrials. Questions have been raised about these from time to time, but when the Supreme Court expressed concern on this last day, the seriousness of the matter was clearly visible. The court said that India should never become a police state, where investigative agencies work like in the colonial era. The Supreme Court made this observation during the hearing of a case on Monday.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sundresh asked the central government to consider making a new law regarding bail. Especially in cases where if found guilty, there is a provision of maximum seven years in jail. The Bench said that the investigating agencies are bound to comply with Section 41-A of CrPC. Under this, the accused has to issue a notice to appear before the police officer. The court also asked all the high courts to trace those undertrial prisoners who are not able to fulfill the conditions of bail. The court directed to take appropriate steps for the release of such prisoners.
The Supreme Court said that prisons in India are full of undertrials. There are poor and illiterate people among such prisoners. The court said that seeing them, it seems that we are still living in the mindset of British rule. The court said that Article 21 of the Constitution shows the right to life. The job of the police officer is to write down the reasons for the arrest. The court said that the investigating agencies are not complying with its earlier orders.
The court asked all high courts and state and union territory governments to file reports within four months. The court gave this decision during the hearing of a case related to CBI. The agency had arrested one person. He challenged this decision of arrest in the court. The court directed the states and union territories to ensure that sections 41 and 41A of CrPC are complied with before arresting people.
Referring to the reports related to women prisoners, the court said that the data shows that they are poor and helpless. More than 1,000 children live with their mothers in jail. The possibility of them becoming criminals when they grow up cannot be ruled out. The court said that bail is the rule while jail is the exception. In its 85-page decision, the court said that along with some states of America, guidelines have been given in the UK.