The Delhi High Court has directed the judges of each district court who visit the Tihar Jail to ensure that undertrials, who have been granted bail but could not be released, are brought to the notice of the trial judge concerned.
Status report
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar gave the order after perusing a status report submitted by Delhi government which showed that 253 undertrials were lodged in Tihar jail despite being granted bail to them as they could not furnish a bond or surety due to poverty.
The Bench also directed the district judges to submit a report of the risk assessments of the list of 253 undertrials so that they could be released. It further directed the district judges to review any other pending cases of prisoners who could not secure release despite grant of bail.
Several Supreme Court verdicts have held that fundamental rights of even a prisoner accused of serious offences cannot be overlooked under any circumstance, the court said.
Risk assessments
Even the Law Commission had recommended that risk assessments be carried out on undertrial prisoners, who languish in jail as they cannot fulfil bail conditions, so that they can be released, the court added.
It directed the jail authorities to promptly bring such cases to the attention of the trial courts and the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA).
The directions of the court came on a petition filed by advocate Ajay Verma, who contended that hundreds of people were languishing in Tihar Jail here, despite being granted bail.
The high court in its order directed the trial courts to be more sensitive and vigilant about such cases and to undertake a review of the reasons as to why an undertrial could not be released on bail.
