Yesterday, this paper ran a front page report on a city non-profit, helping undertrials who are not able to afford bail. Central to the report was the story of an 87-year-old who was arrested for kidnapping and extortion. The senior citizen was granted bail but he could not afford the bail bond. Yet, after a month the non-profit Al-Birr Foundation paid for his bond.

Though this person was treated well in prison, like others, he yearned and prayed for freedom every day, till the NGO came to his rescue. Many undertrials in Indian jails serve terms that far exceed the sentences they would have been given, had they been convicted. Shockingly, reports state that many undertrials languish for more than 10 years in prisons. While now, there are moves to change the systems and amendments to the law are being made, we need non-profits working in tandem and within the system to make life more bearable for those for whom justice is delayed is not a cliché but a biting reality.