Behind Bars Without A Trial: A Socio-Legal Look At Undertrial Prisoners In India
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 18
- 1 min read
Akash Pal, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal
ABSTRACT
In the world’s largest democracy, lakhs of men and women languish in custody, not because they are guilty, but because they are poor, voiceless or forgotten. India’s prisons are overcrowded with undertrial prisoners, that is, those arrested for alleged crimes, but yet to receive justice, often for years. These prisoners symbolise an invisible humanitarian crisis where they have had their last vestiges of liberty locked away by delay, while justice is more a privilege than a right.
This article seeks to conduct a critique from a socio-legal perspective of the undertrial crisis in India. It seeks to unpack how all of these forces, judicial delay, acute inequality, lack of legal awareness, and institutional indifference, work together to generate a situation in which thousands languish in prison facilities, pending trial time into custody for petty offences, or in some cases, no offence. The critique is based upon Article 21 of the Constitution; Sections 436 and 436A of the CrPC; Supreme Court judgments; and the yawning gulf that exists between constitutional ideals, and the realities on the ground.
Despite calls for reform, little change in practice is occurring, or in fragmented and weak ways. The critique ends with tangible recommendations for change through preparing, implementing plans for legal aid reforms, fast track courts, bail reform to an ultra-liberal model, and community-based alternatives to custody - arguing that freedom should not be a privilege purchased with privilege, but rather a right administered by justice.
Keywords: Undertrial Prisoners, Judicial Delay, Article 21 of the Constitution, Legal Aid Reform, Socio-Legal Justice
