NEW DELHI: The Central Government has taken a big step to reduce the crowd of prisoners in various jails of the country. The Center has decided to launch a special scheme to provide financial assistance to poor people lodged in jails as they are unable to afford the fine or bail amount.
According to the statement, “This will enable poor prisoners, most of whom belong to socially disadvantaged or marginalized groups with low education and income levels, to move out of jail,” the Union Home Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The broad contours of the assistance scheme for poor prisoners have been finalized in consultation with the stakeholders.
To ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach poor prisoners, technology-based solutions will be created, e-prison platform will be strengthened and District Legal Services Authority will be strengthened, besides sensitization of stakeholders and emphasis on capacity building.
The Home Ministry said that the government is taking several steps to solve the problem of undertrials lodged in jails. Under this, one of the announcements is ‘support for poor prisoners’. Other steps include the inclusion of Section 436A in the Code of Criminal Procedure and a new Chapter XXIA ‘Plea Bargaining’ in the CrPC.
The Ministry said that free legal aid is being provided to poor prisoners through Legal Services Authority at various levels. “Further to ensure that the benefits of the budget are extended to all intended sections of the society, one of the priorities of the budget, namely the guiding ‘Saptarshis’ are reaching the last mile,” it added.
The statement said that prisons are an important part of the criminal justice system and play a vital role in maintaining the rule of law and the Ministry of Home Affairs shares important guidelines with the state governments through various advisories issued from time to time. Used to be.
The Ministry said that the Ministry is also providing financial assistance to the State Governments to enhance and modernize the security infrastructure in the prisons.
