Sandeep Ashar & Poornima Swaminathan

The condition of prisoners at Arthur Road is similar to that of commuters in a packed Virar-Churchgate local at peak hour. The jail houses almost three times the number of prisoners it was built for; a local on the Western Railway line during peak hours transports three times the number of commuters it is meant for.

But the situation at the jail at least need not be so bad. An RTI application has revealed that at least 1,660 prisoners in Arthur Road Jail, or 72 per cent of the 2,296 inmates, should be let out on bail, since they have been booked for bailable offences.

As reported by DNA on Tuesday, they have been charged with minor offences like ticketless travel, forgery, and abduction.

The jail was built for 800 prisoners. This was revealed by the public information officer of the central prison at Arthur Road in reply to an RTI application filed by Sanjay Sharma of the National Anti-Corruption and Crime Preventive Council (NACCPC).

According to the jail manual, every inmate is entitled to decent food, soap, clothing, bedding, medical care, and sanitation facilities, advocate Kishor Joshi said. But overcrowding denies many prisoners these facilities.

One of the main reasons why many are still languishing in jails is because they cannot afford to hire an advocate, he said.

“This cannot be held against them.”

There are instances of a person who has been living alone after coming to Mumbai in search of a job being arrested for a petty crime, advocate Sushan Kunjuraman said.

“He may be arrested for a petty crime. But since he lives alone, he has nobody to look after him.” According to the jail manual, no undertrial can carry any money while in prison. As a result, many of these undertrials are unable to hire lawyers.

First-time offenders who are made to spend long periods in prison are exposed to hardened criminals and they eventually get drafted into a life in crime, Joshi said.

Ravindra Vaidya, president, Voluntary Action for Rehabilitation and Development, an Amravati-based NGO that works for the welfare of prisoners and their families, said the existing bail system is over-dependent on monetary surety and needs to be reformed.

“There must be a system where if an accused is unable to furnish the monetary surety, he is released and made to do community service for a specified period,” he said.

But not everyone is convinced that this is the answer. “While the present law is entirely in favour of the accused and his right to freedom, it does not take into consideration that a criminal mind is not likely to always fulfil its promise to attend court,” said criminal lawyer Anand Jondhale.

“How does the court ensure the presence of an accused at the trial if the offender has no stake and loses nothing by absconding?”

Mohan Krishnan, president of the NACCPC, said, “We have sent letters to the chief justice of the Bombay High Court, the chairman of the state human rights commission, and the state home department asking them to stop overlooking the rights of these undertrials and expedite their release.”

Source : DNA