Courts in Bengal Now Come to Prison
Courts in Bengal Now Come to Prison
Starting September 5 of this year, courts in India's state of Bengal will set up shop inside prisons one day a week to conduct bail hearings for pretrial detainees. The move comes after India's Apex (or Supreme) Court ordered judges and magistrates to do their part to reduce overcrowding in the state's overpopulated prisons.
According to the order, pretrial detainees who have served at least half of the expected sentence for the crime they are charged with can expect bail — with or without sureties. The order applies to all prisoners except those facing charges that carry a life sentence.
The new court sessions were spurred by sporadic hunger strikes in Bengal prisons in 2011 and 2012. The hunger strikes, which quickly spread across the state's prisons and jails, demanded speedier trials.
According to India's attorney general, more than 50% of prisoners in India's prisons and jails are pretrial detainees. Worse yet, many of them have served the maximum sentence for the crime they are charged with, but still remain incarcerated.
Under the new system, prisoners must apply for a bail hearing and demonstrate that they meet the eligibility requirements under the new law. Prison officials estimate the new procedures and rules will reduce the prison and jail population by more than 15% by the end of the year.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com