Online bail system launched, but prisoners remain in jail

Mar 30, 2020, 04.24 AM IST

Chennai: Glitches in the online bail application system have ensured that prisoners whose release was ordered by the judiciary to decongest jails during the lockdown continue to languish in captivity.

As soon as the lockdown was announced, the state judiciary permitted release on own bail of hundreds of accused in prison for petty offences.

However, people charged with offences carrying up to seven years of imprisonment could not be released. To help them, an online system was introduced through which accused eligible for bail could apply before the orders were communicated to their advocates through e-mail.

Two officers under the respective principal district sessions judge were deputed for each district. Advocates were instructed to file the bail application through the notified email addresses in the prescribed manner. A couple of phone numbers for each district were also notified for the lawyers to mention.

The problem was that the online system didn’t work in some cases and in others the deputed officers didn’t respond to mails or even phone calls. Advocate V Kannadasan said, “I mailed a bail application for a client accused of subjecting his wife to cruelty. But I didn’t receive any acknowledgement or response from the Tiruvallur sessions court. Then I tried to contact the mobile numbers provided. One was switched off while calls to the other went unanswered. I don’t know who else to contact since the courts are also in lockdown,” he added.

“When bail is a right for every accused person, denying such right would amount to a double jeopardy for people who are already in jail. While the main aim of such an arrangement is to decongest jails, such glitches would not serve the purpose exposing the prisoners to the outbreak. The issue becomes more serious considering the sanitation conditions in the prisons,” Kannadasan said.

Adding that the courts promised that such applications would be processed in 24 hours, Kannadasan suggested that the process be processed through the state legal services authority for efficient delivery.

Advocate Duraikannan, who practises in Chenna,i said he had applied bail for an accused arrested in a TNPSC exam scam. “My application mail was responded to immediately. But I don’t know what happened after that. I don’t know the status of my application.”