The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) informed the Supreme Court on Monday that hundreds of prisoners incarcerated in jails across 18 states and Union Territories are seeking to challenge their convictions by filing appeals. This development comes as a beacon of hope, propelled by the availability of free legal aid to these convicted individuals.
During a hearing related to overcrowding in prisons, Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria, serving as amicus curiae, informed the bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai that responses had not been received from the State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) of 16 states and Union Territories.
Following the provision of free legal aid information by Jail Visiting Lawyers (JVLs), NALSA noted in its report that approximately 870 prisoners expressed a desire to file appeals. The Supreme Court considered these arguments and advised NALSA to instruct the SLSAs from these 18 regions to facilitate the filing of appeals for these inmates.
NALSA pointed out several reasons why prisoners had previously refrained from appealing, including satisfaction with the current verdict, nearing completion of their sentence, lack of financial resources, or multiple ongoing cases against them.
It was clarified in NALSA’s report that despite the given reasons, which in some cases are legitimate, there remains significant scope for legal intervention in most other categories.
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The Supreme Court has received responses from SLSAs of various regions including Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Punjab, Telangana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Lakshadweep, and Manipur. The next hearing on this matter has been scheduled four weeks from now.
