GURUGRAM: Two undertrial prisoners at District Jail Bhondsi have been released after their cases were disposed of at a jail lok adalat held inside the prison by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Gurugram, according to a government release issued on Wednesday.
The sitting was organised under the Haryana State Legal Services Authority and on the directions of District and Sessions Judge Narender Sura, who chairs the DLSA. The state government's release did not name the two prisoners or say what they had been charged with.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Nisha, who is also secretary of the DLSA, visited the jail during the lok adalat. She said the aim of a jail lok adalat is to dispose of undertrials' cases quickly and give them the relief they need.
Lok adalats settle matters by agreement instead of a full trial. Inside a jail they are generally used for smaller cases where the accused is ready to settle and the time already spent in custody is close to, or more than, the likely punishment.
Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, an award made by a lok adalat is treated as a decree of a civil court. It is final, and no appeal lies against it. Two releases is a small number, but for the two men it ends a wait for a trial date.
A free lawyer on a plain application
Nisha also went round the legal aid clinic that the DLSA runs inside the jail. She told inmates they can get a free lawyer by submitting a simple application, and spoke to them about their legal rights and the help on offer.
Under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, a person in custody is entitled to free legal services, according to the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The same section covers women and children, members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, industrial workers, people with disabilities, victims of trafficking or disasters, and those below a set income limit.
Section 13 of the Act adds one condition: the authority has to be satisfied that the person has a genuine case to prosecute or defend. Beyond that, there is no bar on the type of case, NALSA says.
NALSA says an application can be made on the ready form available at any legal services authority, or written on a plain sheet of paper with details such as name, gender, address, employment status and nationality, and then posted or handed in. Every DLSA has a front office where such an application can be moved. Free legal aid can be sought at any stage of a case, including an appeal.
NALSA adds that a person can ask for advice alone without pursuing a case in court, and that a request for a particular lawyer from the authority's panel can be considered.
During her visit, the CJM reviewed arrangements for prisoners' meetings with their families, the problems of women inmates, medical care, literacy, sports, sanitation, living conditions and food, and gave directions to the jail administration. The release did not spell out what those directions were.
She also pointed to the national legal aid helpline, 15100, through which people can get free legal advice from home.
Jail Superintendent Sandeep Sharma, Deputy Superintendent Anil, jail staff, panel lawyers and officials of the legal services authority were present.
The DLSA's biggest sitting this year was the National Lok Adalat in September, which settled 93,639 of the 1,47,144 matters listed across the district's courts.
For undertrials, the usual alternative to a settlement is a bail hearing, and that can go either way: in August a Gurugram court refused regular bail to an accused in a cab robbery case.
The release did not say when the next jail lok adalat will be held. Inmates and families who need a lawyer do not have to wait for it, since the application route through the DLSA and the 15100 helpline are available outside these sittings.
