Bombay High Court Asks Legal Services Authority To Review Pending Cases Where Lawyers Are Not Appointed Despite Prisoners' Requests

Justice Sarang V. Kotwal was dealing with an interim application for condonation of delay in filing appeal against applicant's conviction. The Legal Services Authority had kept his request for appointment of advocate pending for more than two years.

"It was unnecessarily kept pending for about more than 2 ½ years. This definitely causes prejudice to such prisoners. Therefore, Legal Services Authority of this Court, is requested to look into this aspect of the matter and to take review all these applications which are pending with them with the co-ordination with the registry of this Court, so that the Appeals are preferred expeditiously", the court stated.

In August 2019, the applicant was convicted under section 376-D of the IPC and sections 4 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 by the trial court. He was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 20 years.

He filed an appeal against the conviction in 2022 with a delay of 2 years and 316 days. The present application was for condonation of this delay.

Advocate Mohansinh Rajput submitted a letter dated October 20, 2019 addressed to the court stating that applicant's financial condition was poor and he cannot engage a private advocate. The Legal Services Authority appointed Rajput in July 2022 to represent the applicant.

Rajput further submitted that the applicant was in custody since May 2015 and could not take effective steps in filing the appeal. Therefore, there was a delay in the appeal.

The court noted the applicant had requested for appointment of an advocate in 2019 itself, but it was kept pending for more than two and a half years. Hence, the applicant has made out the case for condonation of delay, the court said.

The court condoned the delay in filing the appeal and asked the Legal Services Authority to review pending cases in which lawyers are not appointed.

Case no. –Criminal Appeal (St) No. 15443 of 2022

Case title – Dineshkumar Govind Yadav v. State of Maharashtra & Anr.

Citation- 2022 LiveLaw (Bom) 424