SC Highlights Prisoners’ Lack of Awareness on Appeal Rights

Rehan Khan

Out of the roughly 1,40,000 convicts in jails across India, many either do not know about their legal right to appeal against trial court convictions, or are unwilling to approach higher courts due to a lack of expectation for favorable outcomes or fear of having their sentences increased by appellate courts.

Earlier in January, the Bench by passing an order, directed the States and Union Territories to establish District Committees. These committees should include the District Judge, District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, and Superintendent of Jail. Their task was to assess prison conditions at the district level and submit recommendations to the States. These recommendations aim to enhance the living conditions of prisoners, addressing issues such as overcrowding by creating new prisons and ensuring proper sanitation, hygiene, food, health, education, and other essential services.

Among the convicts surveyed, 544 are on death row, 75,629 have been sentenced to life imprisonment, and around 21,000 are serving sentences of 10 to 13 years. Additionally, 16,000 inmates are serving sentences of 5 to 9 years, while the remaining 15,000 are serving jail terms ranging from less than one year to five years.

On July 15th, amicus curiae and senior advocate Vijay Hansaria informed a Supreme Court Bench of Justices BR Gavai, Sanjay Karol, and KV Viswanathan that alarming facts have come to light. This followed the Court’s directive to district legal services authority personnel to visit jails and identify convicts who are serving sentences without ever appealing their convictions in higher courts.

Hansaria mentioned that a preliminary survey by the respective District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) revealed that 870 convicts serving various sentences are willing to appeal their convictions in higher courts. Among these, 523 are in Jharkhand and 282 are in West Bengal.

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) reported that one reason convicts are not appealing their convictions is that jail authorities have not sought their views. NALSA counsel Rashmi Nandkumar told the Bench that major states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, among others, have yet to submit their responses. The Supreme Court has requested these responses within three weeks.

Hansaria highlighted that the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee had received 503 requests from prisoners seeking legal assistance to appeal their convictions, which had been upheld by the relevant high courts.