Set prison in order, Karnataka HC directs authorities after 4-year-delay in producing an undertrial before Magistrate

The High Court of Karnataka on Saturday directed the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons to set right the functioning of the prison in order after noticing that an accused was not produced, even through video conferencing, before the jurisdictional magistrate from the past four years, who was languishing in prison despite grant of bail as he was unable to give surety as per bail condition.

The court found that the jurisdictional magistrate had issued non-bailable warrants (NBW) against the accused due to his non-production. And strangely, a head constable attached to the HAL police station had sent a report to the Magistrate stating that NBW could not be executed as the accused was not traceable even though he was languishing in jail for the last four years.

Submit report

The court directed K.C. Divyashree, DIG-Prisons, to identify all similarly placed accused persons who were not produced before the jurisdictional magistrate in the last six months, take necessary steps to ensure such incidents are not repeated, and submit a report to the court by March 6.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order on the petitions filed by Imran alias Kulla, 28, a resident of Islampura in Bengaluru.

Para-legal volunteers

Earlier, Ms. Divyashree told the court that prison authorities have increased the number of para-legal volunteers to provide free legal service to poor undertrial prisoners, and a process is under way to check the undertrial prisoners who have not been produced before the jurisdictional courts for the last six months.

The petitioner has challenged the two criminal cases, both registered in HAL police station, pending against him besides seeking his release from the prison for the reason that his detention is illegal as he was not produced before the jurisdictional magistrate at regular intervals as per the law.

The Court expressed shock over the conduct of the police head constable, who, sitting in the chambers in the HAL police station and without attempting to execute the NBW, had sent the report that the accused was “not traceable” when the accused was in judicial custody for last four years in another crime registered in the same police station.

The court summoned Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield division) Saidulu Adavath and directed him to initiate departmental enquiry against the head constable and submit an action taken report to the court by March 6.

Plea to be considered

The court said that it would consider next week the petitioner’s plea for his release on the already granted bail from prison by waiving the bail condition for providing surety after his advocate pointed out that the petitioner is from an economically disadvantaged background and he could not furnish surety as directed by the trial court while granting him bail.