Bail but no freedom from jail

AHMEDABAD, Nov 14: A bail order means freedom from imprisonment. But at Sabarmati Central Jail, prisoners are not released if it happens ...

AHMEDABAD, Nov 14: A bail order means freedom from imprisonment. But at Sabarmati Central Jail, prisoners are not released if it happens to be a Sunday and if the bail order reaches them at 3 pm and after, allege advocates. Invariably, the jail authorities ask the prisoners8217; advocates to return on Monday. Until then the prisoners remain behind bars.

The detention of a prisoner for a few more hours may seem trivial. But Valjibhai Patel of Council for Social Justice, who has taken up the issue with authorities, says it is a human rights violation. Detaining a prisoner after a court has granted him bail is illegal, he asserts.

Well-known lawyer Girishbhai Patel agrees. 8220;Once the court releases a person, he should be set free immediately.8221; He quotes from the Criminal Procedure Code to validate his point: 8220;Under section 442, when a person is in jail, the court admitting him to bail, shall issue an order of release to the official in charge of the jail and such officer, on receipt of the order, shall release him.8221;

Interestingly, Inspector General Prisons K S Chaturvedi maintains that the charge levelled by the Council is not true and says they abide by the court orders.

8220;Everything is as per law,8221; Deputy Inspector General Prisons P C Thakur says, adding the jail is open and closed as per the jail manual, but he did not specify what the timings were or, to be specific, the closing time on Sundays.

Inquiries reveal that on weekdays, the jail office opens at 8 am and closes at 5.30 pm. But on Sundays it closes at 3.30 pm. And as only one court functions on Sundays there is a great rush, Valjibhai Patel says.

8220;By the time a person gets bail and the papers are ready, it is about 2.30 pm. When the advocate reaches the Sabarmati jail, it is past 3 pm,8221; says Patel. Then the jail authorities refuse to accept the court order because they are preparing to close the jail for the day.

Story continues below this ad

A letter from the office of DIG Jails to the Council admits the jail is closed at 4 pm on Sunday to allow the jail staff to spend a few hours with their families. It points out that jail employees do not get weekly offs, and have to work even on some public holidays. So, entertaining bail orders beyond 3 pm means foregoing the few hours the employees get to spend with their families on Sunday.

Clearly, the jail is under-staffed. 8220;Against the required strength of 20 jailers, the jail has only nine. Besides, the jail is filled beyond its capacity; against a limit of 1,600 inmates, it has some 2,000. We have to work 12 hours daily,8221; says an employee.

If the Government filled up vacancies, it would help everyone, he says.