Poor who cannot afford lawyers remain in jails as undertrials while rich get bail: Supreme Court Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on Monday took a dim view of accused persons being lodged in jails as undertrials for years together before conviction or acquittal..The top court judge also said that the poor and illiterate who cannot afford lawyers are more prone to detention as undertrial prisoners while the rich who can hire lawyers invariably get bail."Our responsibility as judges is to ensure that the law is followed in letter and spirit, and it does not discriminate between anyone on the basis of the quality of legal representation they can afford, among other man-made qualifiers. This responsibility is also the bedrock of rule of law and access to justice," he stated.He opined that the trend of such long incarceration of undertrials is disturbing and one cannot turn a blind eye to the flip side of the criminal justice system, where the continued detention of poor prisoners has a severe adverse impact on them and their families."We cannot have a scenario where we perceive that the only punishment which can be delivered is keeping people at the undertrial stage, irrespective of whether the prosecution has the ability to get their conviction ultimately. This is a disturbing trend which I find, where people remain behind bars, under trials, and the presumption is whether they are able to get conviction or not, this is what may be the punishment or sentence," Justice Kaul said..He was speaking at the launch of a nationwide campaign to expedite the identification and review of prisoners who are eligible to be considered for release from jails.The campaign, termed the 'Undertrial Review Committee Special Campaign 2023' is being undertaken by the Supreme Court and the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and is scheduled to take place from September 18 to November 20.Justice Kaul is the executive chairperson of NALSA..In his speech, Justice Kaul said that the issue of undertrial prisoners languishing in prisons despite being eligible to be reviewed for release, has continued to come up before the higher judiciary.He added that the legal system should tackle the of poor remaining behind bars because they cannot afford legal assistance. "Detention today is a view in the context of development. The extensive use of detention before conviction diverts criminal justice resources and exerts financial and employment burden on the accused and their families," he stated. .The current campaign aims to enhance the current operations of the Under Trial Review Committees (UTRCs) which were established pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court in 2015. The UTRCs are led by District & Sessions Judges and include District Magistrates, Superintendents of Police, Secretaries, District Legal Services Authorities and officers-in-charge of prisons as members.According to a press release issued by the Supreme Court on Monday, UTRCs over the past five years made recommendations for the release of more than 2 lakh inmates, which eventually resulted in the release of 91,703 prisoners nationwide.