Saturday, April 30, 2016
After SC [Supreme Court] order, Maharashtra releases highest number of under-trials - Written by Zeeshan Shaikh - The Indian Express
http://indianexpress.com/
The Indian Express
After SC [Supreme Court] order, Maharashtra releases highest number of under-trials
This number of released prisoners accounts for nearly 24.74 per cent of Maharashtra’s last-known undertrial population of 19,895 prisoners and has made activists skeptical about the claims of the government.
Written by ZEESHAN SHAIKH | Mumbai | Updated: April 30, 2016 2:20 am
If numbers are to be believed, at least 4,923 undertrial prisoners have been released from Maharashtra’s jails between July 2015 and January 2016. Their release has been in pursuance of a Supreme Court directive that asked states to release on bail those prisoners who had served at least half the sentence they would have been awarded if convicted.
This number of released prisoners accounts for nearly 24.74 per cent of Maharashtra’s last-known undertrial population of 19,895 prisoners and has made activists skeptical about the claims of the government.
A total of 5,819 prisoners were released across the country after the SC’s order, with Maharashtra accounting for nearly 85 per cent of these released prisoners. The second largest number is from Uttar Pradesh, with 198 released undertrials.
These numbers were made public in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by MoS Home Affairs Haribhai Chaudhary.
In June 2013, Justice R C Lahoti, a former Chief Justice of India, had written a letter to the then CJI, inviting attention to the inhuman conditions prevailing in 1,382 prisons across India. The letter was taken up as a public interest writ petition, and on April 2015, the SC passed an order, directing steps be taken to improve the conditions of prisons.
Among the various directives, one was to ask all the states to ensure that the Under Trial Review Committees of each consider the cases of undertrial prisoners, entitled to the benefit of Section 436A.
Under this section, all those undertrials who have served half of the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence they are accused of, can be released on bail. The only rider is that the prisoner should not be an accused of an offence punishable by death.
“The Under Trial Review Committee should specifically look into aspects pertaining to effective implementation of Section 436 of the CrPC and Section 436A of the CrPC, so that undertrial prisoners are released at the earliest and those who cannot furnish bail bonds due to poverty are not subjected to incarceration only for that reason,” a two-member bench of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice R K Agarwal had said in an order, dated February 2016, while evaluating the implementation of the previous recommendations.
The state has, meanwhile, claimed that all the State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) had been requested by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to urgently take up the cases of the undertrial prisoners, entitled to the benefit of Section 436A of CrPC, and to instruct the panel lawyers to urgently meet such prisoners and move appropriate application before the courts for their release.
“Under Trial Review Committees have been established in every district across the country, comprising of district judges as chairman and secretary, district legal services authorities as one of the members to monitor and review the cases of aforesaid under-trial prisoners for their early release,” Haribhai Chaudhary said in Parliament.
When contacted, Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary Vijay Satbir Singh said that he was on leave. ADGP (Prisons) BK Upadhyay could not be contacted.
Activists have been skeptical about the high numbers shown for Maharashtra. “The SC directive had explicitly named Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in its order, due to their high undertrial population.
However, the number of persons released account for nearly 24 per cent of Maharashtra’s undertrial population, which is a huge number. Interestingly, when we had sought these numbers through an RTI application, they had refused to share them,” said Sugandha Mathur, Project Officer, Prison Reform Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative.
In June 2013, Justice R C Lahoti, a former Chief Justice of India, had written a letter to the then CJI, inviting attention to the inhuman conditions prevailing in 1,382 prisons across India. The letter was taken up as a public interest writ petition, and on April 2015, the SC passed an order, directing steps be taken to improve the conditions of prisons.
When contacted, Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary Vijay Satbir Singh said that he was on leave. ADGP (Prisons) BK Upadhyay could not be contacted.
Malegaon blasts case: SP MLA seeks action against ATS officers | Petitions allege bias by investigating agencies
http://indianexpress.com/
The Indian Express
Malegaon blasts case: SP MLA seeks
action against ATS officers
Azmi was speaking at a function he had organised for Muslim youth
recently discharged in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case.
By: Express News Service | Mumbai | Updated: April 30, 2016 3:01 am
During the meeting, some of the youth discharged spoke about their experience and the brutality they faced in custody. (Archive Photo) -
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi on Friday claimed there was danger of Muslim youth taking up guns in reaction to police brutality. Azmi was speaking at a function he had organised for Muslim youth recently discharged in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case.
Azmi said ATS officers should face legal consequences for trying to falsely implicate innocent persons. “The state needs to be careful that young men are not forced to take up the gun in reaction to brutality of police,” said Azmi at a meeting called by Milli Tehreek. The meeting was called to seek justice and compensation for Muslim youth discharged by a special MCOCA Court from charges of planning and carrying out the 2006 Malegaon blast.
“I demand that all these police officers who brutalised these men in lock-up are punished. The then ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi had once said if these Malegaon accused were ever found innocent, he was ready to face punishment. I ask him today, he should remain true to his words and be ready to face justice,” Azmi said.
During the meeting, some of the youth discharged spoke about their experience and the brutality they faced in custody.
“The ATS tortured me non-stop for 48 straight days. They used to tie us up and hit us on soles of our feet. They threatened to bring our women and degrade them in front of our eyes if we did not confess,” Noorul Hudda Shamshudduha said.
Raees Ahmed claimed the ATS staff celebrated the day he signed the confession letter. “They beat me up for a one whole month and partied the day I signed the confession under duress. Soon after I signed, one of the police officers came up to me and said ‘Tumhari na hi bomb banane ki na hi bomb lagane ki aukat hai’,” Raees Ahmed Mansuri said.
Another pointed out how police would massage him with oil a day before they were to be presented for a medical check up or in front of courts.
“They opened the gates of hell for me for 28 straight days. They would stop hitting me only a day before I was supposed to be taken for a check up or to court. That day, they would massage us with oil and offer us haldi in our food to help us hide our marks. The thrashing would begin as soon as the check up ended and we returned,” Mohammed
Zahid Ansari said.
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Malegaon blasts case: Petitions allege bias by investigating agencies
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Prakash Naik has asked state and investigative agencies to produce orders in the case.
By: Express News Service | Mumbai | Updated: April 30, 2016 3:33 am
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Prakash Naik has asked state and investigative agencies to produce orders in the case. (Express archive)
Following a special court discharging Muslim youth in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case, the issue of bias on the part of investigating agencies during investigation of terror cases was raised before the Bombay High Court on Friday. The court said the “matter will have to be heard”, and asked for the orders in the case to be submitted before them.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Prakash Naik has asked state and investigative agencies to produce orders in the case.
The court was hearing several petitions which alleged that there was a pattern of investigative agencies picking up Muslim men as accused in terror cases, including the Pune German Bakery blasts, 7/11 blasts and the 2006 Malegaon blasts.
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