*CRIMINAL CUSTODY* *http://tehelka.com/story_main32.asp?filename=Cr140707dobigha.asp *
*India's grim prisons are made worse by a lack of judicial monitoring* The spate of deaths in Delhi's Tihar Jail during the peak months of summer brought some desperately required attention to overcrowding and prison conditions in general. On June 18, the Delhi High Court directed the release of all inmates arrested under Section 107, read with Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) who were unable to get bail as they could not furnish sureties. Six hundred and twenty three inmates were released on personal bonds the next day. The following day, however, another 31 persons were arrested on the same charges. When an explanation was sought, the Delhi Police argued that the High Court's order did not lay down a general rule but only applied to those already arrested! If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny. While the High Court dealt with the question of surety, neither the Court nor anyone else asked a vital question -- should these persons have been arrested at all, let alone sent to prison? For one, all these persons were arrested to prevent the commission of an offence. Although the power of preventive arrest is to be exercised only when an offence "cannot be otherwise be prevented", this is no real safeguard as there is effectively no check on the police's use of such powers. These cases are heard by a Special Executive Magistrate (sem): a serving Assistant Commissioner of Police in Delhi. Hardly an independent judge! Being able to contest the police version of facts is not easy as the court is not designed for any serious examination of questions of innocence or guilt. Protesting innocence involves coming to the court at least once every few weeks, with wages lost for each day away from work. Instead, the accused often opts to apologise, execute a bond and stay low -- at least, the court process ends in a day. It's a tempting choice but comes with a catch: being on the local police's radar, and easy prey for a future unsolved crime. Those who can, pay a bribe and get released at the thana stage itself. The unluckiest ones who cannot pay the bribe or produce a surety often spend months in jail -- part of the 81 percent under-trial population in our prisons. A brief visit to the sem's court leaves little doubt about who such powers are usually used against --slum-dwellers, domestic servants and rickshaw pullers, casual and migrant labour. These preventive powers effectively give a free hand to local thanas to detain who they like and extort what they can, given rare judicial monitoring. Unlike political prisoners, arrested under other preventive-detention laws, these accused have neither lawyers nor any groups calling for their release. They may receive attention in peak summer as part of steps to reduce the prison population, but until the question of unnecessary and illegal arrests is tackled, these efforts will be nothing more than a drop in the ocean. * Batra** is a Delhi based lawyer* *July 14 , 2007* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality." - Dr BR Ambedkar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
