Kerala High Court Warns Prison Authorities Against Unnecessary Delay, Detention Of Lawyers Visiting Clients in Jail

The Kerala High Court recently highlighted the vital role of lawyers as officers of the court in criminal cases and observed that when lawyers visit their clients in prison, it is the duty of prison officials to respect their professional duties and avoid unnecessary delays or detentions.

Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan expressed shock after a lawyer who was forced to approach the Court to obtain the signature of his client convicted in a criminal case lodged at Central Prison. The Judge made it clear that any unwarranted obstacles faced by lawyers in meeting their clients in jail will be viewed seriously by the Court going forward.

"I am astonished to see the pleadings in this writ petition and the grievance of the lawyer...Usually, it is said that the Bench and Bar are the two sides of the same Coin. On some occasions, the lawyer is part of the judiciary itself. Lawyers are not only helping their clients but are also assisting the Court to arrive at the right conclusion in a lis. Therefore, the lawyers are officers of the Court."

"When a lawyer is going to prison to meet his client, it is the duty of the officers of the jail to give respect to the lawyer and allow him to do his official/professional duty without any delay. If any unnecessary delay is caused to a lawyer in meeting a client in jail or if there is any unnecessary detention of a lawyer at the gate of a jail, who approaches a prison after taking appointment to meet his client in connection with his professional duties, this Court will take it very seriously in the future."

The Court has also directed the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Poojappura to issue a circular in this regard and forward it to all the prisons in the State.

The petition was filed by a lawyer alleging that he was denied permission by the Superintendent of the Central Prison, Poojappura to get the vakalath, writ petition and affidavit signed by his client, who is a convicted prisoner undergoing life imprisonment at the said prison.

The Superintendent thereby filed an affidavit as directed by the Court expressing regret for the inconvenience caused to the petitioner-lawyer. When the matter was taken up again, the petitioner who appeared party-in-person submitted that his grievance had been redressed. In the light of this submission, the Court found that the petition could be closed. 

However, before disposing of the matter, Justice Kunhikrishnan recalled the rights of prisoners as laid down in many judgments such as Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration and Francis Coralie Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi & Ors. 

"Before parting with the case, it is to be remembered that the right of a convict to get legal assistance is a constitutional right." 

The Court concurred with the dictum established in Moti Bai v State (AIR 1954 Raj 241), affirming that lawyers have the right to meet their clients in the pursuit of their professional duties, provided the client wishes to meet them. The police or prison authorities cannot impose limitations on such interactions as long as the lawyers' actions are within the scope of their professional responsibilities and not for any other purpose.

Justice Kunhikrishnan further pointed out several legal provisions that grant similar rights to prisoners including Sections 36 and 47 of Chapter IX of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Act, 2010, Rule 827 of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules, 2014, Rules 435, 451 and 750 of the Kerala Prisons Rules,1958. 

In this context, the Judge opined that all prison authorities should give necessary assistance to the prisoners to meet their lawyers.

"If a lawyer approaches a prison to meet his client and the client also wants to meet his lawyer in connection with the professional duty of a lawyer, the Prison Authority should give due respect to the lawyer and should take necessary steps to facilitate the meeting of the prisoner with his lawyer, without any unnecessary delay. "

As such, the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Poojappura was directed to issue a circular in this regard and forward it to all the prisons in the State to ensure that the lawyers coming to the prison in connection with their professional duties are given the required respect and are not detained unnecessarily by the jail authorities. 

Senior Government Pleaders P Narayanan and Sajju S appeared for the respondents in the matter. 

Case Title: Thushar Nirmal Sarathy v. State of Kerala

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 306

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