This document summarizes prisoner's rights initiatives and legal aid services provided in Delhi prisons. It discusses the assignment of remand advocates, benefits provided under bail laws, legal clinics in jails run by Delhi State Legal Services Authority, jail visiting advocates, legal awareness programs, e-kiosks providing case status, a prison management system, monitoring committees, inspection of jails and observation homes, rights of convicts, the role of DSLSA, filing of appeals, a proposed case compendium, grievance processes, access to legal aid, human rights issues, adoption of jails and homes, benefits of programs, identifying juveniles, monitoring bail orders, ensuring timely filing of appeals, a child welfare scheme, and data on

1. PRISONER’S RIGHTS
LEGAL AID
&
PRISON REFORMS
Presented by:
(Sanjeev Jain)

2. “Every saint has a past and
every sinner has a future” –
Oscar Wilde

3. FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES
• Arrest
• Bail
• Fair Trial
• Sentencing
• Rights of Convicts

4. ON ARREST
Assignment of Remand Advocate
 Remand Advocates assigned to all the Magisterial &
Sessions Courts so that no accused remains
unrepresented before any Criminal Court during JC/PC
remand.

5. FOR BAIL
• Referred to Under Trial Review
Committee
• Benefit of Section 436A Cr.P.C.
• Benefit of Section 437(6) Cr.P.C.
• Benefit of Section 428 Cr.P.C.

6. LEGAL SERVICES CLINICS IN JAIL
• Clinic run by Delhi State Legal
Services Authority for providing free
legal aid and advice.
• Free legal aid services to inmates
from 3 pm to 7 pm on all working
days.
• Inmates serving long term
sentences as Para Legal Volunteers

7. JAIL VISITING ADVOCATES
• Interacts with jail inmates
• Take appropriate steps regarding
grievances of inmates
• Drafting bail applications/petitions
through the Secretary of DLSAs

8. LEGAL AWARENESS
• DSLSA conducts Legal Literacy classes
in Jail to educate inmates about their
rights and availability of free legal aid
services.
• Legal Literacy classes on Plea-
Bargaining
• Spread awareness on Parole, Furlough,
Legal aid etc.

9. E-KIOSK
• To access the status of all the pending
cases of inmates before High Court and
its Subordinate Courts
• e-Kiosk also installed in the “Chakkar”
area provided the internet access to
retrieve the real time updated
information to the jail inmates
• Facilitating the updation of info qua the
pendency of appeals/trial etc.

10. PRISON MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• Records the complete details of each
inmates lodged in Jail
• Electronic mode of “Jail Custody Warrant”
• Uploads the day to day Court‟s
proceedings of inmates facing trial
• Trigger the alert qua such inmates where
the minimum period undergone by the
prisoners as requisite u/s 436A Cr.PC is
completed.

11. MONITORING COMMITTEE
• Monitoring Committee at the level of
High Court Legal Services Committee
• Monitoring Committee for DSLSA
• Monitoring Committee for District Legal
Services Authorities
• Appointment of Ombudsman /
Monitoring Consultant

12. FUNCTIONS OF MONITORING
COMMITTEE
• Maintain the records of day to day
progress of the legal aid cases
• Keep a watch on the day to day
proceedings in the courts by calling the
reports from the panel
lawyers/retainers
• If the progress of case is not
satisfactory, Monitoring Committee may
advice the legal aid advocates.

13. INSPECTION/VISIT TO JAILS &
OBSERVATION HOMES
• Regular visits of Secretaries of DLSA
in Jails and Observation Homes in
order to ensure that legal rights of
the inmates are not violated on
account of lack of information and
assistance.

14. RIGHTS OF CONVICTS
• Effective Legal Advise during Investigation /
Trial
• Appeals
• Awareness of Legal Rights
• Jail conditions/Facilities
• Skill/Training/Education of UTPs
• Rehabilitation

15. ROLE & ACTIVITY OF DSLSA
• Provision of Translators /
Interpreters in Women‟s Jail

16. ACCESS OF LSA TO WARDS OF
JAILS
• Access to Mulahiza Ward and other Wards in
all the jails to provide Legal Services to
inmates.

17. APPEALS
• To prepare and submit grounds of appeal
immediately after passing of the judgment of
conviction not later than 10 days.

18. COMPENDIUM
• Proposal of making a software having a
Master Compendium of all Convictions
recorded in Delhi by Session Courts which
would be accessible online to DHCLSC &
DLSAs from Central Office, DSLSA.

19. GRIEVANCE SLIPS TO UTP
• „Grievances Slip‟ qua issues raised by the
UTP/Convicts for making any complaint
against the LSA or suggestion, if any.

20. TELEPHONE CALLS
• Jail Authorities have been requested to allow
each inmate to make a call on atleast two
phone numbers for 5-10 minutes each within
24 hours of inmate entering Jail or in case of
change in Jail number so that family would
come to know of his/her whereabouts.

21. EFFECTIVE LEGAL AID IN CASES
• All the Courts having criminal jurisdiction to
ensure that the UTPs are provided effective
legal representation and wherever the private
counsel are absent or not coming forward,
the services of empanelled LSA may be
obtained.

22. HUMAN RIGHTS/MEDICAL AID
• Legal Services Advocates are sensitized that
they should have regarded to all issues
concerning the prisoners as regards issues
concerning human rights including issue
concerning medical treatment and facilities
provided to an individual or to the inmates in
general in jail.

23. STATUS OF JAILS
• There are 9 Jails in Tihar Jail Complex.
• One Jail at Rohini.
• Jail No.6 is meant for Women prisoners.
• Jail No.7 is meant for Adolescent Under Trial
Prisoners.
• The capacity of the Jail is to accommodate 6250
inmates and as on today 14472 number of inmates
are lodged.

24. ADOPTION OF JAILS &
OBSERVATION HOMES
• Under the Project of the Year 2013-2014 onwards,
DSLSA has adopted all the Jails in Delhi as also the
Observation Homes.

25. • In each Jail, 3-4 legal aid counsels have been
deputed for providing free legal aid services to
inmates from 3 PM to 7 PM on all working days.
• DSLSA has also set up a Legal Aid and Counselling
Centre at Tihar jail to supervise the functioning of all
the Legal Aid Centres in Jails.
• DSLSA has also trained 170 inmates serving long
term sentences as Para Legal Volunteers and they
are assisting the Legal Aid Centres established at
Jails.

26. BENEFITS
• The data uploaded can be accessed through
the e-kiosk in the Legal Services Clinics
• LSAs can provide quality and effective legal aid
services
• Delhi Police can too have access
• Filtering of cases falling in category of section
436A Cr.PC – facilitating work of Under Trial
Review Committee
• Facilitating identification of probable juveniles

27. JUVENILES IN ADULT JAILS
• Teams of DSLSA/NCPCR visit all the jails in
Delhi on monthly basis to identify suspected
juveniles. DSLSA has been appointed as a
Nodal Agency to ensure that the directions
passed by the Hon‟ble High Court of Delhi that
juveniles are not lodged in regular jails
alongwith adults and are dealt with only under
Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.

28. BAIL BOND CASES
• The Hon‟ble High Court in W.P. (C) 3465/2010, D.M.
Bhalla Vs. State, appointed the DSLSA to monitor the
communication of bail orders passed by the Courts to
the Jails, to ensure that jail inmates know that bail has
been granted to them. Periodic reports have been
submitted to the Hon‟ble High Court in respect of the
number of accused persons/convicts enlarged on bail
after these orders have been passed. The Jail
authorities are required to submit information to the
DSLSA regularly. Secretaries of DLSAs have been
directed to ensure that no one in whose favour a bail
order exists continues to languish in jail.

29. TIMELY FILING OF APPEAL OF CONVICTS
• DSLSA was assigned the task to ascertain as to why appeals
of convicts detained in jail are not filed timely. It was found
by DSLSA that Trial Court record was not being supplied to
Legal Services Counsel in time. Therefore, a system has
been established whereby external Hard Disks have been
supplied to all District Legal Services Authorities with a
direction to obtain digital scanned copy of entire file of all
the decided Criminal Sessions cases from District Court
Administration and transmit the same to the High Capacity
Master Hard Disks installed at Jail Section, DSLSA, High
Court Legal Services Committee and Central Office, DSLSA
from where lawyers are being supplied CDs of entire trial
court file including chargesheet, evidence, judgment and
order on sentence.

30. SCHEME FOR WELFARE OF CHILDREN WHOSE
PARENTS ARE IN JAIL
• Delhi State Legal Services Authority was directed
to send its recommendation on the scheme
framed by Department of Women and Child
Development, GNCT of Delhi regarding Welfare of
children whose parents are in Jail. DSLSA finally
prepared a “Scheme of “Financial Sustenance,
Education and Welfare of Children, 2013” for
children of incarcerated earning parent. This
scheme has been notified by Hon'ble the
Lieutenant Governor on 13.08.2014 and has now
been made a Law.

31. DATA OF JUVENILES IN CONFLICT WITH LAW
BENEFITED FROM FREE LEGAL SERVICES
CALENDER YEAR JCLs benefitted from free Legal Services
2012 1155
2013 1908
2014 3175
2015 2991
TOTAL 9229

32. DATA OF JUVENILES IN NEED OF CARE &
PROTECTION BENEFITED FROM FREE LEGAL
SERVICES
CALENDER YEAR Juveniles in need of care & Protection
benefitted from free Legal Services
2012 1337
2013 1876
2014 4952
2015 4842
TOTAL 13007

33. DATA OF UTPS/CONVICTS WHO RECEIVED LEGAL
AID
CALENDER YEAR No. of times inmates availed free legal
services
2012 30,400
2013 41300
2014 45,700
2015 53,546
TOTAL 1,70,946

34. DATA OF BENEFICIARIES OF UNDER TRIAL
REVIEW COMMITTEE
• Total number of cases of UTPs taken by Under
Trial Review Committee : 228
• Total number of cases in which Under Trial
Review Committee has recommended to move
bail applications : 150

35. DATA OF PETITIONS FILED IN HIGH COURT &
DISTRICT COURT BY UTPS
CALENDER YEAR Number of Petitions filed in
High Court
Number of Petitions filed in
District Court
2014 2200 2458
2015 2206 3181
TOTAL 4406 5639

36. • Total number of Jail Visiting Advocates : 65
• Total number of advocates in JJBs : 14
• Total number of advocates in Observation
Homes : 20

37. THANK YOU