Other States - Orissa   

Number of undertrial prisoners on the rise in Berhampur

BERHAMPUR: Closure of District Judge court and other courts in the city for more than 115 days has put severe pressure on the Berhampur circle jail.

The number of undertrial prisoners is on the rise in the jail as even persons arrested for small bailable offences are unable to get bail due to closure of courts.

The lawyers of Ganjam bar association started agitation and did not let the courts function with the demand of establishment of a permanent bench of the Orissa High Court in the city from Dec 4.

According to sources on that day there were 692 prisoners in the Berhampur circle jail and out of them 396 were undertrial prisoners. Now the number of inmates in the jail is more than 800 and around 520 out of them are undertrail prisoners.

This circle jail is now housing prisoners much beyond its capacity.

Even after a new block was inaugurated a few months ago, the original capacity of this jail is to hold 436 prisoners.

The superintendent of the Berhampur circle jail also accepted that heavy increase in the number of undertrial prisoners due to closure of courts in the city had put tremendous pressure on the management of the jail. He said efforts were also under way on to arrange bail for some undertrials through the jail welfare officer. He said that within last three months 257 undertrial prisoners had managed to get bail from the district judge through the mediation of jail officials.

Delay in release of an arrested student led to students’ agitation on Berhampur university campus.

Many social activists feel that these undertrial prisoners are being denied their basic fundamental right to approach a court of law as courts in the city had been closed for such a long period. Congress leader Bulu Dash termed this long closure of courts due to lawyers’ agitation as a failure of the State Government.

“It is a constitutional obligation of the State Government to provide ample scope to these undertrials lodged in Berhampur circle jail to approach court of law for bail. But the State Government has failed in its duty,” he said.

An PIL regarding the plight of these undertrials and the continuing closure of courts in Berhampur is also pending in the Orissa High Court, said Mr Dash.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Concern over rights of forest dwellers
Workers demand identity cards
Health services in ‘severe crisis’
Number of undertrial prisoners on the rise in Berhampur
Long wait for the ‘promised’ land
Two shot dead, one injured
Locals block road
Naveen criticised
Five killed in accident
Actor dons new avatar
Towards promoting Oriya
‘Gramshree Mela’ from April 5

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu