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The Delhi High Court today issued notice on a petition seeking directions to the state for providing of First Information Reports (FIRs), chargesheets, evidence recorded before Trial Courts, and relevant court orders to undertrial prisoners who have been lodged in jail and could not procure the documents due to limitations placed by the Covid-19 situation.

The matter was being heard by the bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh.

The plea filed by one, Alok Tripathi states, "Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and limited functioning· of the trial courts, a large number of undertrial prisoners (UTPs) do not have the stated relevant documents", as a result of which they are unable to avail their legal remedy of filing bail applications or interim bail applications before concerned courts. 

It is pointed out that this "precarious entanglement" impedes any progress in their trial, resulting in a "serious infringement of their fundamental right to seek remedies provided under law". 

Tripathi states that despite multiple applications for obtaining certified copies of the relevant documents the same have not been provided to the undertrials and that a circular issued the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) dated Jan 7, 2019, infact prohibits UTPs having private counsels to obtain the same through the DSLSA legal aid channel. 

In the backdrop, the petition inter alia seeks directions for a scanned copy or hard copy of the FIR, chargesheet, evidence recorded in trial courts and other trial court records to be provided to the UTPs on requests/ applications in respect thereof, for sending of a copy of the FIR to the jail if and when the accused is sent to judicial custody, and for the setting up of a mechanism for the relevant documents of UTPs to be scanned and uploaded on the website of respective district courts. 

The petitioner has also sought for the trial courts to upload the copy of recorded evidence and daily order sheets as and when recorded, on the District Courts' and for quashing for the DSLSA circular dated Jan 7, 2019.

The court has listed the matter for further hearing on Nov 29.

Cause Title: Alok Tripathi v State (NCT) of Delhi