For want of surety money

More than 250 prisoners are behind bars in Delhi as they are unable to pay up

The law has freed them, yet they remain imprisoned.
Two jails in Delhiu00a0- Tihar central prison and Rohini district jail - house 257 inmates who have been given bail by the court but who remain in captivity, as they are not able to furnish bail bonds or surety money pronounced by the court at the time of giving bail. Some of them have been languishing in jail for the past two to three years.

Sources said while at least 200 such inmates are lodged in Tihar jail, 57 prisoners are housed in the Rohini district jail in north Delhi.

The surety money they have failed to pay ranges from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000, depending on the degree of the crime committed by the convict. However, there is a ray of hope for all such prisoners now, as a Delhi lawyer has taken up their case.

"As such people are not convicted by the courts they lose opportunity to support their families. The families continue to suffer during the period of their detention in jail. Moreover, the prisoner has to undergo psychological and physical hardships inside the jail," said DM Bhalla, a Delhi High Court lawyer, who has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court, seeking release of such prisoners.

"I came across several such prisoners during my visits to Rohini Jail. There were several cases where incarcerated prisoners, hailing from other states and from the NCR region, have been granted bail by the court, yet languishing in jail as they are poor or unable to arrange surety amount mentioned in their bail orders," said Bhalla, who is associated with the Delhi Legal Services Authority.u00a0

Terming it "illegal", Bhalla pointed out the Supreme Court's observations to support his argument.
He said it is the state government's responsibility to help such people. "While rich people get out of prison immediately, the poor continue to rot in prisons due to lack of resources."

"Despite several directions issued by the apex court in this regard, there was no compliance by the state governments. The Delhi government must form a committee to review such cases," Bhalla added.

Rs 5,000-50,000 Range of surety money
200 Approximate number of prisoners in Tihar who were not able to furnish surety
57 Number of prisoners in Rohini district jail who were not able to furnish surety

What the apex court said
In Moti Ram versus State of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court in 1978 had observed that bearing in mind the need for liberal interpretation in areas of social justice, individual freedom and indigent's rights, the court holds that bail covers both releases on one's own bond, with or without sureties.
In Shankara and Others versus State (Delhi Admn) in 1995, the court had observed the state government must take into consideration all these factors and in such cases must move the courts for relaxing conditions attached to the bail orders and in appropriate cases should even request the courts to release the under trial prisoners on their executing person's bond.