The Brave Pedestrian

While Salman Khan secured bail in barely three hours after his conviction, over 60% of undertrials spend more than three months in jail before they can secure release. The prolonged incarceration is due to their inability to get bail. Government data shows that roughly 1.75 lakh of 2.78 lakh people facing criminal charges are unable to secure bail before three months. Over 40% (1.1 lakh) of undertrials take more than six months to secure bail, over 64,000 spend more than one  year in jail before they are released on bail, while over 30,000 spend more than two years in jail. Image: http://tinyurl.com/jail-bail-India And further to this, thousands of convicts are detained months or even years AFTER COMPLETION OF THEIR SENTENCES due to non-payment of fines. These are inmates who remain in jail even after completion of their jail sentences because they are unable to pay the fine amount! At the end of 2013, there were 3000 such prisoners. Of these, 1375 prisoners, or 4...

Thousands of convicts are detained for months or even years AFTER COMPLETION OF THEIR SENTENCES due to non-payment of fines. What right to Life & Liberty are we talking about? The common man has no real right to life and liberty! That's right, there are thousands of inmates who remain in jail even after completion of their jail sentences because they are unable to pay the fine amount! At the end of 2013, there were 3000 such prisoners. Of these, 1375 prisoners, or 45.2% had been in jail less than six months after completion of their sentences. On the other extreme, 240 were still languishing in jail for more than five years after their jail sentences had ended. If non payment of fines of a few thousand rupees can keep you in jail for months or even years, what justice is there in our country? (Thank you TOI for in-depth coverage of this issue.)

Although bail was a right of every individual, it was largely available only to the rich", says Colin Gonsalves of Human Rights Law Network. "When it comes to rich people, the court has double standards. Rich even get anticipatory bail. Salman's case is a shocking case of miscarriage of justice and consideration based on class. First, it's a fit case where he should have got 10 years in jail. Two,  why should his bail plea be heard expeditiously when there are hundreds such applications pending in the high courts. Why should he be allowed to jump queue? It sets a bad precedent," he told TOI. But that's not the only problem. Courts have also been terribly slow in disposing of cases (Salman's itself took over 12 years). Courts have 84.8% pendency in criminal cases while on an average over 60% cases take more than a year for trial to be completed. As many as 41,670 cases take more than 10 years while 1.7 lakh cases take between five to 10 years for the tria...

Our nation is in the midst of judiciary's summer vacation -- an entire organ of State closed for five to seven weeks (except for a tiny number of vacation-judges -- a loincloth-like shred of judiciary). Because of these summer vacations, courts give long dates to undertrials -- even those who are being held in judicial custody. Dates are not always given given immediately after summer vacations, so the delay is not only of a few weeks. With lakhs of people being held in judicial custody without a trial for months and even years, doesn't this make our judiciary the biggest human-rights violator in India and abroad? Think about the needless suffering that common people and their families undergo, while our judges and lawyers insist on their right to take it easy. Judges don't think it is a big deal to hold an accused in prison for a few extra weeks or months. For them, it is just business-as-usual!  http://tinyurl.com/Courts-Summer-Vacation Regards, ...

16th May 2015, Mumbai: Senior Counsel Harish Salve, who flew in from Delhi to help Salman Khan avoid spending a couple of nights in jail, was himself involved in a road accident that killed a man in May 2014 -- just over one year ago. Barely any media group highlighted this news (except DNA, which withdrew the news item hastily). The accident took place in May 2014. Harish Salve’s car was i nvolved in an accident at the Rajpath-Mansingh Road crossing leaving the driver of the other vehicle, Mr. Joginder, seriously injured. Joginder was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after the accident, and expired on 2 May, 2014. Joginder was an employee of the Le Meridien hotel. It is to be noted that Salve himself did not approach the police. Rather it was an unknown caller who informed police about the accident. Joginder died on the day of accident itself in the ICU of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. Here is the shocking part: On Harish Salve’s instruc...

Although bail was a right of every individual, it was largely available only to the rich", says Colin Gonsalves of Human Rights Law Network. "When it comes to rich people, the court has double standards. Rich even get anticipatory bail. Salman Khan's case is a shocking case of miscarriage of justice and consideration based on class. First, it's a fit case where he should have got 10 years in jail. Two, why should his bail plea be heard expeditiously when there are hundreds such ap plications pending in the high courts. Why should he be allowed to jump queue? It sets a bad precedent," he told TOI. But that's not the only problem. Courts have also been terribly slow in disposing of cases (Salman's itself took over 12 years). Courts have 84.8% pendency in criminal cases while on an average over 60% cases take more than a year for trial to be completed. As many as 41,670 cases take more than 10 years while 1.7 lakh cases take between five to 10 years f...

While Salman Khan secured bail in barely three hours after his conviction, over 60% of undertrials spend more than three months in jail before they can secure release. The prolonged incarceration is due to their inability to get bail. Government data shows that roughly 1.75 lakh of 2.78 lakh people facing criminal charges are unable to secure bail before three months. Over 40% (1.1 lakh) of undertrials take more than six months to secure bail, over 64,000 spend more than one  year in jail before they are released on bail, while over 30,000 spend more than two years in jail. And further to this, thousands of convicts are detained months or even years AFTER COMPLETION OF THEIR SENTENCES due to non-payment of fines. These are inmates who remain in jail even after completion of their jail sentences because they are unable to pay the fine amount! At the end of 2013, there were 3000 such prisoners. Of these, 1375 prisoners, or 45.2% had been in jail less than six months after comp...

Thousands of convicts are detained for months or even years AFTER COMPLETION OF THEIR SENTENCES due to non-payment of fines. What right to Life & Liberty are we talking about? The common man has no real right to life and liberty! That's right, there are thousands of inmates who remain in jail even after completion of their jail sentences because they are unable to pay the fine amount! At the end of 2013, there were 3000 such prisoners. Of these, 1375 prisoners, or 45.2% had been in jail less than six months after completion of their sentences. On the other extreme, 240 were still languishing in jail for more than five years after their jail sentences had ended. (Thank you TOI for in-depth coverage of this issue.) Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

डरने की क्या बात है, सल्लूभाई? यह भारतीय अदालत है, भगवान का न्यायलय थोड़ी न है? यहाँ देर और अंधेर दोनों हैं. तारीख पे तारीख लेते रहो, और मज़े करो, यार ! Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

Under the firm guidance and keen eye of Chief Justice Mohit Shah, Bombay High Court has shown that it has amazing efficiency. By cutting through the red-tape to ensure that Salman Khan did not go to jail even for one second, Bombay High Court has shown that it can clear away pendencies effortlessly. "I am happy and proud to announce that SALMAN KHAN IS NOW THE BRAND AMBASSADOR of Bombay High Court's new drive for granting bail and suspending convictions & sentences handed do wn by trial courts," said Chief Justice Mohit Shah at a press conference, while congratulating Judge Abhay Thipsay for his super-fast moves that ensured the actor's liberty. Responding to a query from the media about justice for the victims of Salman Khan's rash driving, Mohit Shah retorted, "Justice? What is a little justice between friends? And victims? What victims? Do you see any victims around here? Don't you see Salman Khan is being made into a victim here? Don'...

Here's something the media never reports: "Anaadi courts" are the instrumentality by which the State deprives tens of thousands of Indian citizens of their Fundamental Right to Life & Liberty. Without due process. For trivial offences like crossing the railway tracks, ticketless travelling and "loitering suspiciously" (combined with inability to furnish bail-bond or engage a lawyer), people are arrested and held in judicial custody for days, weeks or even months in judicial custody, without even being chargesheeted. This is happening daily, without interruption. Hello... Are the Chief Justices listening? Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share  

About 50% of Indian magistrates (and 80% of public prosecutors) are widely known to take bribes for going easy on undertrials seeking bail. Magistrates safeguard themselves by channeling the bribes through policemen. Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share

Who is biggest human rights violator in India? Judiciary. Why? Because... With the barest-minimum loincloth of "due process of law", our judiciary deprives thousands of people of their Life & Liberty every month, And it keeps them in jail month after month, without a trial. Corruption in magistrate's courts and sessions court is well know and widespread. People who can't afford to pay BAIL, BRIBES & LAWYERS' FEES stay in judicial custody for months, even years without a tria l. Evidently, everybody is fine with that. Not a squeak out of the Human Rights activists & intellectuals. Not a squeak out of the mass media. And damningly, not a squeak out of the judges of Higher Judiciary, custodians of our Fundamental Rights! If We The Citizens don't raise an outcry on this, SHAME ON US. Like  ·  Comment  ·  Share