Right to Legal Aid & Access to JusticeThe state of Undertrials in Alwar Prison of Rajasthan

IntroductionWhat is to be addressed

17,477Rajasthan’s prison population as on 1 March 2012

11,954Number of Undertrials

5,523Number of Convicts

MandateAgencies of Criminal Justice System

Keeping Liberty as Paramount…JUDICIARY

To ensure speedy trial based on fair trial standards

PRISON

To facilitate timely production of Undertrials in Court & inform Undertrials about next production date

POLICE

LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY To ensure access to counsel at the earliest to any person

in custody

To ensure timely filing of chargesheet & availability of police escorts for court production

LAWYER

To provide effective legal representation to his/her client

ResearchOur findings

The Study

STUDY SAMPLE

Interviewed 345 Undertrials in Alwar Prison of Rajasthan

Objectives of the Study

1 To examine the state of legal aid in the district

2 To collect empirical data to identify major problems faced by Undertrials

3 To examine the implementation of legal provisions

To use evidenced based advocacy to institutionalise mechanisms that check unnecessary detention

Objectives of the Study…

First production before the magistrate

Access to lawyer

Scope of the Study

Access to free legal services

Quality of legal representation

Production before the court

Socio-economic background of the undertrial population

Period of remand and detention

Implementation of legal provisions – bail & plea bargaining

Knowledge of undertrials on basic legal provisions & trial status

Age Education

Caste

Socio-economic background

51% were sole earners in their family Out of which 39% earned between Rs.1000-5000 ($20-100) per month

Families of 9 inmates did not know that they are in prison

67% fall in 18-30 years age-group 32% are illiterate

55% belong to socially & economically backward classes of the society

First Production before Magistrate

60% were not produced within the statutory limit of 24 hours!

Access to Lawyer

40 inmates did not have a lawyer!

First Access

Only 5% had access to counsel at the time of arrest

Kind ofLawyer

Only 10 inmates had legal aid lawyers

Periodicity Place

Time permeeting

Meeting with Lawyer

No place for lawyer-client interaction within jail premisesLawyer-client communication happen only through families

60 inmates have never met their lawyers

59% meet their lawyer only in Court at the time of hearing

More than 60% usually meet their lawyer for less than 15 min.

Quality of Legal Representation

1 out of 10 inmates having legal aid lawyer complained of the lawyer demanding money from the client

PresenceIn Court

30 inmates complained that their lawyers were never present in Court

Informationprovided

36% are not satisfied by services provided by their lawyers

Period of Remand & Detention

Period of remand was never extended to less than 14 days! No production in Additional District Judge’s Court, Behror which was vacant since July 2010

18 inmates have been in prison for more than a year as Undertrials!

Production in Court

About 30% court productions do not take place because of lack of Police Escorts!

Reasons for Non-production

Production in Court

30.5% are only taken to court but never produced before the Magistrate14% could not even differentiate between taking to court and effective production

Only taken to Court but never produced

Sometimes produced

Always produced

Don’t know

Are inmates actually produced before the magistrate or locked up in Court lock-up?

Knowledge of Inmates

* 75 inmates did not apply for bail. Data shows only those who had applied for bail.** Undertrial’s right to be released on personal bond if half of the maximum period of imprisonment is completed in judicial custody. *** 274 inmates were ineligible for Plea Bargaining. Data shows only those who were eligible.

53% did not know about right to free legal services from the State20% were unaware whether their lawyer had ever applied for bail

70% did not know why their bail was rejected by the Court

Strategic Future Interventions

Thank you!

Prison Reforms Programme

Behind Bars Not Beyond Justice

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative