Advocating for release & protecting the rights of people deprived of liberty

1. ADVOCATING FOR RELEASE &
PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE
DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY
MADHURIMA DHANUKA
COMMONWEALTH HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVE, INDIA

2. TIMELINE
MARCH 2020
Supreme Court takes suo moto cognizance
– constitutes State-Level Committees
-- directs weekly meetings of District-Level
Under Trial Review Committees
APRIL/MAY 2020
Committee meetings;
Identification of eligible prisoners;
Filing of bail/parole applications etc.
JUNE 2020
Releases: 42,529 unsentenced &
16,391 sentenced prisoners
15.4% decrease in occupancy rates*
*This does not take into account number of admissions.
Source: CHRI’s tracker https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/content/stateut-wise-prisons-response-to-covid-19-pandemic-in-india

3. ROLE OF PRISONS
 Assisted in identification of cases for release on parole and bail
 Coordinated with courts and legal service providers for filing of applications for release
 Precautionary measures in furtherance with Ministry of Home Affairs’ Advisory on ‘Management of COVID-19 in
Indian Prisons’ along with ‘Standard Operating Procedures for Handling Arrested Persons, Detainees and Inmates
during the Pandemic’
ROLE OF COURTS
 Supreme court: In re: contagion of covid 19 virus in prisons constituted High Powered Committee
a) Chairman of the State Legal Services Committee (SLSA),
b) Principal Secretary/Chief Secretary (Home/Prison) and
c) Director General of Prisons
 District Court:
 Remote hearings of urgent matters – bail applications

4. No. of persons
provided legal
representation at
remand stage
No. of bail
applications filed
of such persons
at remand stage
No of such bail
applications
allowed
No. of Undertrials
represented
during trial
through legal
assistance
No. of bail
applications filed
for undertrials
No. of convicts
provided legal
assistance in
filing of appeals
No. of convicts provided
legal assistance in Parole
/Furlough
19184 8779 6113 22024 30291 513 6311
SERVICES BY LEGAL AID PROVIDERS: MARCH TO JULY 2020*
*Source: Data received from National Legal Services Authority, India
ROLE OF LEGAL AID PROVIDERS
 Legal aid providers continued to have access to prisoners – physical and virtual
 Filing of applications for bail/parole, finding sureties etc.
 Identifying eligible prisoners for consideration by Under Trial Review Committees for release
 Providing assistance to released prisoners – ration support etc.

5. CHRI’S EFFORTS SINCE MARCH 2020
MARCH 2020
-Guidance note on
Ensuring Effective
Response to
COVID-19 in
Prisons
- Note for High
Powered
Committees
- Note for
Undertrial Review
Committees
APRIL 2020
- Tracked number
of releases
- now also includes
COVID+ cases on
website
- convening of civil
society
organisations
JUNE 2020
- National
Consultation on
Prisons & Ensuring
Effective Response
in collaboration
with a state prison
department
JULY 2020
- Research on
Decongestions
efforts in prisons
- Research on
Provisions of Legal
Services during the
Pandemic
AUG 2020
- Checklists:
External & Internal
Monitoring
- Reporting
formats:
Strengthen HPC
efforts of
decongestion

6. LONG TERM LESSONS
 Decongestion is possible!
 Pre-trial detention should be used as a LAST resort
 Better coordinated functioning of criminal justice systems can reduce unnecessary and prolonged detention
 Similar decongestion efforts can be conducted on regular intervals to ease overcrowding and reduce period of detention
 Prioritisation by governments to improve prison conditions, healthcare facilities and fill staff vacancies are vital to avoid
similar situations in future
 Sufficient allocation of budgets to prisons and legal services
WHAT NEXT?
 Documentation of decongestion efforts, impact of COVID-19 on prisons in other jurisdictions
 Understanding long term impact of COVID-19 on prisoners’ rights is necessary to develop initiatives to mitigate
negative impacts
 Convening of the network towards strengthening pre-trial detention safeguards and concerted calls for release and
protecting rights of people deprived of liberty

7. THANK YOU
Madhurima Dhanuka
PROGRAMME HEAD
Prison Reforms Programme, CHRI
Email: madhurima@humanrightsinitiative.org