Absence of legal aid is one of the main reasons for the rise in number of undertrials committing suicide in prisons across the country. Significantly, undertrial prisoners constitute 67 per cent of the inmates in Indian jails.
These are the findings of a report prepared by the amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court that was spurred into action by a letter written by former Chief Justice of India RC lahoti, on the inhuman conditions in Indian prisons. The court treated the letter as a PIl and appointed Gaurav Agarwal as amicus curiae. In order to remedy this ill, the Bench of Justices Madan B lokur and NV Ramana last week directed the National legal Services Authority (NAlSA) to respond on the availability of empanelled lawyers in legal services authorities in States and districts.
The court pulled up NAlSA Director Rajesh Kumar Goel, who was present in court, and asked him what NAlSA was doing to remedy the situation.
“The report by the amicus curiae has said NAlSA is not providing legal aid. This is one cause of suicides. Prisoners are not able to approach lawyers. Their bail petitions are getting rejected. They are cut off from legal aid and what are you doing about it,” the Bench asked Goel.
The report by Agarwal quoted statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed a disturbing trend. Between 2012 and 2014, the number of unnatural deaths reported from across all jails in the country saw an increase from 126 in 2012 to 195 in 2013.
Of these deaths, suicides claimed 87 lives in 2012 while in 2013, this figure rose to 94.
“Chances of suicide can be considerably reduced if inmates are able to access legal aid,” the report said and recommended that jail-visiting lawyers must get a list of first-time offenders and approach them, as experience has shown that new inmates are hesitant to approach lawyers.
The report also pointed to the absence of legal aid clinics in sub-jails. It quoted a report by NGO Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) to suggest that even where legal aid clinics are established under NAlSA (legal Aid Clinics) Regulations 2011, they are not fully operational.
The Bench sought a response from NAlSA by May 6 on all the above conclusions made in the report. lack of legal aid has also been seen as a major cause of overcrowding of jails. On April 24, 2015, while dealing with the same matter, the apex court issued a slew of directions. In one of the directions, the court asked the Secretary of the District legal Services Committee to provide legal aid for undertrial prisoners in compoundable offences so that they get to escape trial. At present, undertrials constitute 67 per cent of the jail population which is estimated to be about 2,78,000 as on 1 January, 2014.
NAlSA had since filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court informing that steps are being taken to appoint adequate number of panel lawyers.