New Delhi: In a move to reduce the overcrowding of prisoners in jails, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to launch a special scheme to provide financial assistance to poor people who are unable to pay only fines or bail. Being unable to do so, they are locked in jails. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that with this poor prisoners will be able to get out of jail. Most of them come from socially disadvantaged or marginalized groups with low education and low income. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced to make special arrangements for the help of poor prisoners in this budget.
A Home Ministry release said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, the Ministry of Home Affairs is taking several steps from time to time to resolve the issue of undertrials in jails. These include the inclusion of Section 436A in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), including a new chapter XXIA ‘Plea Bargaining’ in CrPC. The Home Ministry said that free legal aid is being provided to poor prisoners through the Legal Services Authority at various levels.
The Home Ministry said that the broad contours of the scheme have been finalized in consultation with all concerned stakeholders. Under this scheme, the Government of India will provide financial assistance to the states to provide relief to those poor prisoners, who are unable to get bail or be released from jail due to non-payment of fines due to poverty. The Home Ministry said that it has to be ensured that the benefits of the budget are extended to all the weaker sections of society. The help of necessary technology will also be taken to further strengthen this process to ensure that the benefits reach the poor prisoners.
