Right To File Bail Plea Sans Delay & Access To Legal Aid 'Intertwined': Allahabad HC Suggests Positive Measures For Undertrial Prisoners

Emphasizing that the rights to file a bail without delay and access to legal aid of an eligible prisoner are intertwined, the Allahabad High Court on Monday suggested some significant positive measures so as to overcome the delay in filing of bail pleas by undertrial prisoners in absence of proper legal aid.

"The right of moving a bail application becomes illusory and personal liberty remains a distant dream if the right to legal aid of an entitled prisoner is not effectuated," the Bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot observed as it directed the State Legal Services Authority to devise a scheme for such undertrial prisoners who are unable to filed bail pleas due to lack of proper access to legal aid.

The Court suggested the measures as it took note of the issue being faced by the under-trial prisoners regarding their inability to access legal aid raising legal and constitutional issues, which directly affect the right of bail and the personal liberty of the applicant.

In this regard, the Court suggested the following measures while directing the jail authorities as well as concerned State authorities to cooperate with the State Legal Services Authority and the District Legal Services Authority and ensure effective implementation of the schemes framed by the State Legal Services Authority:

A. To create a comprehensive programme with SOPs for legal aid to prisoners accused of various crimes including heinous offences who have not filed bail applications before the High Court within a period of one year after rejection of bail by the trial court. The said period of one year is only suggestive. The said period has to be determined by the State Legal Services Authority.

B. To create a comprehensive programme with SOPs for giving legal aid to prisoners accused of committing various crimes including heinous offences who have not been able to move bail applications before the trial court six months after imprisonment. The said period of six months is only suggestive. The said period has to be determined by the State Legal Services Authority.

C. The State Legal Services Committee may suggest to the High Court to decide an appropriate procedure for filing of bail applications on behalf of the undertrial prisoners, and particularly those who do not have any pairokars.

D. Legal aid counsels may be given appropriate directions to take measures for listing and early hearing of bail applications.

E. Filing of subsequent bail applications in case the first bail application is rejected by the High Court.

F. The jail authorities and District Legal Services Authority shall maintain the list of all prisoners which shall contain these details. Date of imprisonment, date of filing of bail application before the competent court, date of grant/rejection of bail application by the trial court, the date of grant/rejection of bail application by the High Court, date of conviction, and latest status of pending bail applications. Efforts should be made to make updated order sheets of courts, and likely dates of listing available online in jails.

G. Regular intimation of the status of the case to the prisoners. Take regular feedback from prisoners including those who have been given legal aid.

With this, the Court also stressed the importance of legal as it noted that legal aid is a catalyst to redeem the preamble promise of justice and remains a bulwark for the protection of fundamental rights. The Court also observed that the High Court is under a constitutional obligation to address various legal and constitutional issues which impact the grant of bail if they arise in the facts of a case.

"The rights to file a bail without delay, and access to legal aid of an eligible prisoner are intertwined. They cannot be separated. The right of moving a bail application becomes illusory and personal liberty remains a distant dream if the right to legal aid of an entitled prisoner is not effectuated. A fresh breeze of fundamental rights shall blow through the stone walls that a prison makes. Iron bars of jails cannot hold back the glad tidings of equal justice," the Court further remarked.

The Court also said that the fundamental rights of prisoners paired with statutory duties of the State Legal Services Authority cast an obligation on the SLSA to devise a scheme that shall take care of the following points:

(I) to identify prisoners who are undertrials for various crimes including heinous offences and have not applied for bail before the trial court in a timely manner after their imprisonment

(II) to identify prisoners who are facing trials for various crimes including heinous offences but have failed to file bail applications before the High Court in an expeditious time frame after rejection of their bail application by the trial court,

(III) to identify prisoners who are facing trials in various offences including heinous crimes but are unable to file subsequent bails before the High Court after the rejection of earlier bail applications by this Court,

(IV) to identify prisoners who are unable to effectively prosecute their pending bail applications in various offences including heinous crimes causing delays in hearing,

(V) to ascertain whether the inability of the said prisoners to expeditiously file or effectively prosecute bail application is caused by factors comprehended under Section 12 read with Section 13 of the Act,

(VI) to approach prisoners who qualify for legal aid, educate them on their rights to filing bail applications without delay, and determine the nature of legal aid needed by them,

(VII) to provide legal aid and facilitate the filing of bail applications

The case before the Court

The Court was essentially dealing with the case of one Anil Gaur who belongs to an economically deprived class of citizenry and was abandoned by his near and dear ones after his imprisonment in connection with a murder case.

Since he did not have access to legal aid to file his bail applications in a timely manner before the trial court as well as the High Court, therefore, after being denied bail by the trial court in 2019, it took him over 3 years to file his subsequent bail plea before the High Court.

Finding him eligible for bail, the Court ordered that he be released on bail in on his furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court.

Case title - Anil Gaur @ Sonu @ Sonu Tomar v. State of U.P. [CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 16961 of 2022]

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (AB) 435

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