Under Trial Prisoners And The Criminal Justice System
- IJLLR Journal
- May 17
- 2 min read
Gurneet Kaur, Research Scholar, University School of Law, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib.
Dr. Supinder Kaur, Assistant Professor, University School of Law, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib.
INTRODUCTION
Under-trial prisoners constitute a significant majority of the prison population (75.8%). All the 4,34,302 out of 5,73,220 persons who are within prisons as under-trials are deemed to be innocent in the eyes of the law. How can a system that calls itself just and fair, justify depriving 4,34,302 “innocent” people of their liberty? “The consequences of pre-trial detention are grave. Defendants presumed innocent are subjected to the psychological and physical deprivations of jail life, usually under more onerous conditions than are imposed on convicted defendants. The jailed defendant loses his job if he has one and is prevented from contributing to the preparation of his defence. Equally important, the burden of his detention frequently falls heavily on the innocent members of his family”. An effective criminal justice system inevitably needs to ensure that accused stands trial for the crimes they are alleged to have committed. Therein lie the historical roots of incarcerating people accused of committing crimes. Depending on the gravity of the offence, the police are empowered to keep a person in their custody for 24 hours, after which any further detention must be authorized by the judiciary.Saveafewexceptions,allareentitledtobereleasedonbail. TheBharatiyaNagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023(earlier The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), does not define the term “bail” although offences are classified as bailable and non-bailable. The former are less serious offences and any person accused of committing these is entitled to be released on bail as soon as s/he is willing to furnish bail. When accused of committing non- bailable offences, a person can only be released on bail by the court if it is satisfied that the person shall attend the court to stand trial; will not tamper with evidence or influence witnesses or obstruct police investigation in any manner; will not commit any other offence or hinder the interest of justice.
