[Access to legal aid] Allahabad High Court directs State Legal Services Authority to devise scheme for undertrial prisoners
During the course of hearing in a bail plea, members of the bar and applicant's counsel raised the issue of many prisoners not being able to access legal aid.
The Allahabad High Court recently asked the State Legal Services Authority to devise a scheme for undertrial prisoners who are unable to file bail pleas owing to lack of proper access to legal aid.
The bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot made significant suggestions also for effective implementation of such scheme.
Court said that the State Legal Services Authority should devise a scheme that can make the exercise of identification of prisoners, determination of their eligibility for legal aid, and providing them legal aid an established procedure in jails to be undertaken on a continuous basis and without any break by the District Legal Services Authority.
While directing the jail authorities as well as concerned State authorities to cooperate with the State Legal Services Authority and the District Legal Services Authority in effective implementation of such scheme, Court added, "This scheme will have the added benefit as delayed trials or pending appeals will come to the notice of the High Court for appropriate directions as per law".
In addition to that, court tabled significant suggestions that may be considered by the State Legal Services Authority for effective implementation of the said scheme. The suggestions are:
A. To create a comprehensive programme with SOPs for legal aid to prisoners who have not filed bail applications before the High Court within a period of one year (suggestive only) after rejection of bail by the trial court.
B. To create a comprehensive programme with SOPs for giving legal aid to prisoners who have not been able to move bail applications before the trial court six months after imprisonment.
C. The State Legal Services Authority may suggest to the High Court to decide an appropriate procedure for filing of bail applications on behalf of the undertrial prisoners, and particularly those who do not have any pairokars.
D. Legal aid counsels may be given appropriate directions to take measures for listing and early hearing of bail applications.
E. Filing of subsequent bail applications in case the first bail application is rejected by the High Court.
F. The jail authorities and District Legal Services Authority shall maintain the list of all prisoners which shall contain these details.
G. Regular intimation of the status of the case to the prisoners. Taking regular feedback from prisoners including those who have been given legal aid.
The directions came when the court was dealing with a bail application. During the course of hearing in the bail plea, the applicant's counsel and other members of the Bar raised the issue being faced by many prisoners i.e. their inability to access legal aid.
Regarding the present case, court noted that the applicant belonged to an economically deprived class of citizenry, who was abandoned by his near and dear ones after his imprisonment leaving him with no effective pairokar to conduct his case.
Accordingly, while issuing directions to tackle the larger issue raised by the applicant's counsel, court granted the applicant bail noting that he was not named in the FIR and there was no direct evidence against him.
Case Title: Anil Gaur @ Sonu @ Sonu Tomar v. State of U.P.