Mission possible: Moily’s plan unites 5.6L undertrials with kin – ToI – 3.6.11

Many Prisoners, Now Granted Bail, Languished For Years For Petty Crimes
Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN

New Delhi: Those aware of the snail-paced justice delivery system were cynical when in 2009 law minister Veerappa Moily unveiled a plan to release two lakh poor undertrial prisoners languishing in jail for years, in many cases exceeding the maximum sentence for the crime.
But, Moily’s mission impossible has thrown up very unexpected results — 5.6 lakh undertrials released on bail, 77,940 discharged and 68,744 convicted, who in all possibility have been released for having already served their sentence as undertrials.
Though the UPA government started with a conservative target, the release of seven lakh undertrials meant it overshot the goal by more than 300%.
Jurists had sneered at Moily’s impossible task because for the past two decades successive law ministers had expressed serious concern about the plight of undertrials, but on ground no tangible coordination took place between the Centre, judiciary and the state governments to give succour to the poor who were languishing in jails because they neither had anyone to stand as guarantors nor assets to furnish as bail bonds.
But, Moily struck to his task personally coordinating with the state governments and the chief justices of the high courts. “I am happy because it will bring a smile on the face of at least 35 lakh people, the family members, who would be reunited with the released undertrial prisoners,” he said.
“Many may not count it as a legal reform. But, it will go a long way in providing breathing space in overcrowded prisons and upholding the human rights of poor people,” he said.
He wrote to the CMs and CJs on Thursday giving them all the credit. “Having been encouraged by the kind of performance under the leadership of all the chief justices of the HCs, fully supported by the subordinate courts and also the state governments, I would rather urge upon all of you to step up the programme which has received highest acclaim from the citizens and is particularly focussed on marginalised society,” he said.
Moily suggested to them to utilise the video-conferencing facility now being provided under the e-courts project linking the district courts and the jails. “It is suggested that the said facility can be effectively utilised for reducing the number of undertrials and also for expediting the trials,” he said.