NEW DELHI: India is to free nearly 200,000 people held in state prisons awaiting trial — some of whom have already spent more time behind bars than they would have if convicted.
Federal Law Minister Veerappa Moily said on Monday at least 175,000 of more than 250,000 remand prisoners — known as “undertrials” — would be freed in response to human rights campaigns for people lost in the judicial system. “We want to dispose of as many as two thirds of the undertrial cases by July 31,” Moily told reporters.
India’s National Crime Records Bureau said last year a quarter of a million people facing trial — or 70 per cent of the prison population — were being held in 1,276 state-run jails across India. It said 96 per cent were male. Moily said the releases would include some detained foreigners. “But the law of the land would prevail in such cases as the matter also relates to extradition and other sensitive issues,” he said.—AFP (Dawn)
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