42 undertrials freed in Delhi

New Delhi Jan. 27: To put the criminal justice system on the fast track and expedite the cases involving petty offences, a Delhi court on Wednesday released 42 undertrial prisoners languishing in jails for various petty offences. The court’s order, the first of its kind, came following the Union government’s move to decongest overcrowded jails by July. The plan is to reduce the number of undertrial prisoners by two-third in the next six months. The process is an initiative of law and justice minister M. Veerappa Moily, who was present at the Patiala House court complex along with Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Delhi high court to witness the first such release on Wednesday. The order of the court comes in the wake of the overcrowding in jails, the huge pendency of cases and protracted trials in the justice delivery system. “It’s a reformative process and should be encouraged,” Dr Moily said on the occasion. Those prisoners who were released or granted bail today are lodged in various jails involving petty offences like theft, pick-pocketing, snatching and robberies. Dr Moily said, “The need of the hour is to release prisoners who are lodged in jails for years together and are involved in petty offences so that they don’t become hard core criminals when they come out.” “We are planning to release 1.7 lakh prisoners till July 31 around India. To begin this, we have informed all the courts and the various legal services authorities to prepare the list of prisoners who can be released,” Dr Moily said. The minister said chief justices of state high courts have been asked to prepare a report “as fast as possible” about the people in jails, their offences, the nature of cases, and the maximum punishment they can invite so that these trials can be completed by July 31.

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