Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently noted that the late production or non-production of persons accused of crimes and incarcerated before courts is “denial of fair and speedy trial to the accused.”
The court was responding to a statement from the superintendent of Taloja Prison, who said, “239 police personnel are specifically assigned for production of accused. However, they are always diverted for other work or bandobast duty.” The superintendent said it is the duty of the police administration to provide sufficient police escort for production of the accused, but “100% police escort is never sent.”
He submitted a detailed table of his administration’s demands for police escort for production of accused persons in court. From August 2017 to January 2018, police escort had been provided up to 36% of the time, and in February 2018, it was only 56%. He said due to non-production of the accused in court, sometimes they have destroyed government property, or fasted in protest, and there have also been incidents of self-injury and attempts to commit suicide. To prevent such occurrences, the jail administration has to give priority to the production of accused persons and they are produced in court by rotation.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Mridula Bhatkar was hearing a plea filed by an under-trial, Sonu Kapursingh Tak, detained at Taloja Prison and has not been produced in court 12 times.
The bench said that the problem in Maharashtra has remained unsolved, and “Late production or non-production is denial of fair and speedy trial to the accused.” The complainant or the victim also suffers, the court said, and this is a hindrance to the effective and efficient working of the criminal courts.
The court noted that the State provides for special escort, but police personnel are routinely diverted and deployed in other work.
The court observed, “It is necessary to pass a specific order that such escort is not to be removed or to be deployed for some other work than the production of accused before the criminal court except in the special circumstances after obtaining the order of commissioner of police or superintendent of police.”
