Prisons department fails to produce undertrial before court for 4 years, Karnataka high court seeks report

Bengaluru: The high court pulled up the prisons department for failing to produce an undertrial before the court concerned for the last four years, and directed the DIG (Prisons) to submit a report on action taken in such instances of non-production of undertrials."Put your prison in order. Should this court pass an order to produce an undertrial before the court concerned? Highly incorrect. Accused are also human beings unless convicted," Justice M Nagaprasanna orally observed while seeking details on the issue.
In the case at hand, the petitioner Imran alias Kulla was in prison for the past four years. His advocate submitted that he could not be released from prison despite being granted bail for not being able to arrange the surety. It was further submitted that a head constable attached to the HAL police reported to the court stating that an NBW (non-bailable warrant) issued against the petitioner could not be executed as the accused was not found, while the accused was in prison in a criminal case registered by HAL police.The advocate also stated that for the last four years, not even once was the accused brought before the court, even through video conferencing, and on that score multiple adjournments were granted for appearance by the concerned court.After finding these anomalies, the high court ordered the personal presence of the Prisons DIG and DCP Whitefield. Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty, on instruction of the DCP Whitefield, who was present before the court, submitted that a departmental enquiry was initiated against the head constable who sought to execute the NBW while the accused was in prison.The court further directed the DIG Prisons to submit a report on the issue of production of undertrials. "The DIG Prisons undertakes before this court that appropriate steps would be taken to identify all those persons who have not been produced before the court in the next two weeks and place a report as to what steps they took to identify and not repeat the same anomaly," the court said, adjourning the matter to March 6.