Prisoners aspire to pursue law, defend themselves; write entrance

Faced with challenges, including accessing books and bearing expenses for every exam, these prisoners decided to pursue law to understand the criminal justice system, defend themselves and build a career after their release.

Gorkhe, a singer who has been in jail since 2020 on charges of being a member of the CPI (Maoist), made an application before the special court in April, seeking permission to attend the CET exam. In his plea, he said that he has been preparing for months and expressed his wish to pursue law.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that the special court may pass appropriate orders as per the prison manual. The special court permitted him to attend the exam on April 28, directing guards to take him to the exam centre 45 minutes in advance. Considering his circumstances, the court also waived the police escort charges.

Officials from the Navi Mumbai police said that Gorkhe was taken to the exam centre in Byculla along with four security guards on May 3 morning.

Similar pleas were also moved earlier by Nadeem Akhtar and Mohammed Raisuddin, who also completed their Bachelors of Law (LLB) course while in jail. Akhtar (33), who has been in jail since 2011 in connection with the Mumbai triple blasts case, appeared for his entrance exam in 2019 and got a degree in 2022 with first class. Raisuddin (44), a school teacher, who was arrested in 2016 in connection for his alleged links with the Islamic State (IS), too, completed the course, before he was granted bail in 2022 by the Bombay High Court.

Raisuddin had earlier dropped out of the course after he got a teachers’ job in 2001. When he was imprisoned in 2019, he, however, gave a rethink and attended the CET in 2019.

“One of the policemen sat next to me for the whole exam. I cleared it and managed to take admission in a college in South Mumbai,” Raisuddin said, adding he had requested to waive the police escort charges but he was directed to pay Rs 17,500.

Subsequently, for the first semester exams, he was asked to pay Rs 21,000 per day and ended up paying Rs 42,000 for two exams. He approached the Bombay High Court, following which he was asked to pay Rs 350 as per day fee for diesel. Similarly, Akhtar paid Rs 10,000 on 20 occasions when he was required to attend exams, unit tests and vivas.

In 2020, while the exams for one semester were not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic, three semester exams were done virtually on the computer of a departmental office of the Taloja jail.

Facing power cuts and other disturbances, Raisuddin attended the exams virtually for three semesters. In the last semester, he again paid Rs 2,500 per day as escort charges before he got his degree in 2022.

Citing the escort charges as the biggest hurdle, Akhtar said that his father had to sell their agricultural land in Uttar Pradesh to fund the expenses. NGO Jamiat Ulema-e -Hind helped him with some of the expenses, while his family helped him get books.

The prisoners who seek admissions also face with the hurdle of not being able to comply with mandatory attendance required by colleges. They write to colleges through jail superintendents stating their circumstances, which is rejected by many colleges.

“If a prisoner wants to educate himself to rehabilitate or reinstate in society, it is the duty of the society to support them,” Akhtar wrote in his letter to one of the colleges.

In January, after completing his course from the Mumbai University, Akhtar sought court’s permission for enrollment in the Bar Council of Maharashtra. He also needed a passport size photograph in an advocate’s band and coat for the enrollment, which the court permitted him to submit.

Not able to step out of jail to go to a photo studio, Akhtar found a plain wall within the court premises, while his cousin borrowed a band and a court from a lawyer and took a photograph.

“While attending the exam, he felt as if he was back in college. He pursued law to defend himself,” said Akhtar’s cousin, Ahmed.

Raisuddin does not intend to practise law but says the legal understanding helps him defend his rights.

As per the Prison Statistics of India, 2021, while nearly 40 per cent of the prison population has studied below Class 10, 24 per cent have passed Class 10 but are below graduation. Only 7.5 per cent prisoners have a degree and 1.8 per cent are post graduates.

Prison officials said that over the past four years, as many as 89 convicts completed their bachelor and postgraduate degrees while serving their sentences. While the Maharashtra prison department does not have the data on how many gave the CET this year, every year, a handful approach authorities to attend the exam.