New Delhi: Law Minister Veerappa Moily
and Delhi High Court Judge Madan B Lokur today made a surprise
appearance in a trial court which ordered the release of 42
undertrials languishing in jails for petty offences following
Government's move to decongest over-crowded jails by July.
A special hearing organised by the Delhi Legal
Services Authority (DLSA) was held in the court of Additional
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Pandey to decide on cases
of undertrials accused of cheating, theft, pick-pocketing and
other minor offences.
It was an unexpected relief for Kanhaiya Lal, who has
been in jail since 2005 facing a theft charge for which
maximum sentence is three years jail. He was ordered to be
released as the court held that he had suffered more than the
punishment provided in the penal provisions for the offence.
"Considering the nature of offences and conditions of
the accused, as well as the provisions of law, 42 undertrials
were released today. Out of them, 32 cases were finally
disposed off as accused either pleaded guilty or served the
prescribed sentence," the ACMM said in his report to the DLSA.
The proceedings were held in pursuance of 'National
Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms to the
Undertrial Prisoners', a plan launched by the Law Ministry.
Amid tight security, the hearing was witnessed for
some time by Moily and Justice Lokur, senior-most judge of the
High Court after the Chief Justice.
-PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 22:06