The Jail Lok Adalat will be held every working Saturday in all jails of the state. (file)
At least 448 inmates were released from various prisons in Chhattisgarh under the Jail Lok Adalat initiative undertaken for speedy disposal of cases and to decongest jails in the state, an official said on Friday.
The Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority (CGSLSA) has launched an initiative to conduct Jail Lok Adalat to facilitate release of prisoners who are languishing in jails despite being granted bail or first-time offenders of crimes that are not heinous in nature, he said.
Several prisoners who have been "unnecessarily" languishing in jails, and their family members, have welcomed the move, the CGSLSA official said.
As a part of the drive, the Jail Lok Adalat was held for the first time in all 33 jails of the state on October 15, during which 448 prisoners were released, he said.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had sought suggestions to decongest jails while hearing a special leave to appeal (Criminal) 'Sonadhar v/s Chhattisgarh state', following which the CGSLSA had submitted a proposal to hold Jail Lok Adalat, member secretary of CGSLSA Anand Prakash Wariyal told PTI on Friday.
The proposal was accepted by the Supreme Court, and Chhattisgarh became the first state in the country to introduce such an initiative, he said.
Justice Goutam Bhaduri of the Chhattisgarh High Court, who is also the executive chairman of the State Legal Services Authority, virtually launched the Jail Lok Adalat from Raipur central jail in all prisons of the state on October 15, he said.
The chief judicial magistrate/judicial magistrate first class and executive magistrate were present in jails, during which 448 cases were disposed off, Mr Wariyal said.
The highest number of prisoners -- 163 -- were released in Jashpur, while 85 were freed in Raipur, he said.
The Jail Lok Adalat will be held every working Saturday in all jails of the state, the official said.
According to the prison authority, the state has five central jails, 12 district jails, and 16 sub-jails, and most of them are overcrowded.
The Jail Lok Adalat will cover cases which are heard in the CJM courts related to theft, house trespass, minor brawl etc, the official said.
Prisoners who have been languishing in jail despite being granted bail, cases in which there is no minimum sentence fixed under law, and undertrials who have spent considerable time in prison for offences that are not heinous in nature will also be considered in Jail Lok Adalat, he added.
While inaugurating the initiative, Justice Bhaduri had said that Chhattisgarh is the first state which has taken such a step to protect the human rights of prisoners.
"In a way, overcrowding in jails is a violation of human rights of its inmates. This joint effort is to protect the rights of common men and uphold the spirit of the Constitution. All stakeholders, including jail authorities, have an important role in it and with their cooperation, we will execute it," Justice Bhaduri had said.
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