Right to Undertrial Prisoners (Paper)
- Tejaswini Ramakrishna, KLE Society\'s Law College, Bengaluru
- August 29, 2021
Content :
In this research paper, the status and rights of under-trial prisoners are examined from the perspective of the Indian Constitution and related Human Rights (HR) Laws both at the National and International levels. By bringing to light the precarious status of jailed undertrial prisoners, it is argued that additional safeguards are urgently required to ensure their right to life and liberty as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
According to reports, undertrial prisoners accounted for 69.05% of the total prison population, unable to furnish surety and denied access to legal aid, they are kept in prison for years together, this constitutes an outrageous violation of their HR. The law deems 2,45,244 persons inside prisons to be innocent and under trial. Is there any way a system that claims to be just and fair can justify depriving the liberty of such innocent people?
The research further is carried out with an aim to provide suggestions for amending legislation for the purpose of granting early bail to such prisoners and by bringing about mechanisms that include both preventative and penal provisions against those who violate the HR of prisoners under State custody.
