There were about 300 prisoners who had gathered for the session, some of their offences ranging from crimes like impersonating in exam to offences like abduction, forgery, and dowry and grievous hurt etc. As the IBJ mandate is to provide access to justice, we started with the most crucial question- Did the inmates have a lawyer to represent their case? As expected, we saw a sizeable number of hands being raised up. IBJ volunteer lawyer Ajay Raghav was willing to take up the cases of those who were unrepresented. With the quantum of undertrial population in India, especially in Tihar alarmingly high, the next obvious question was- How many inmates had applied for bail? Few of the inmates had not applied for it. Ajay Verma explained the provisions to those who were eligible for the same.

The prisoners were also made aware of section 167(2) of the CrPC, the provision that if the police had failed to file charges within the stipulated time frame of 60/90 days from the date of arrest then, the accused had a right to file for statutory bail. Often, the inmates are unable to make use of this provision due to the mistake, ignorance of the lawyer and therefore a format on bail under Section 167(2) were distributed among the inmates, so that they can apply for statutory bail themselves. It also came into light as some of the prisoners claimed that their lawyers after taking money from them as fees did not showed up in their defenses.  Mr. Verma made it clear that if a lawyer takes money and does not show up then a client can report/complain to the bar council against them.

During the session, two information pamphlets relating to the provisions of plea bargaining and bail explaining the provision and the procedures were distributed. The information pamphlets were in Hindi, the language understood by the majority of inmates so as to ensure accessibility of information. Mr. Sumit, a coordinator working for Tihar jail made a list of the inmates without legal representation; these cases will be represented by IBJ lawyer Mr. Ajay Raghav. Further there existed cases wherein some inmate’s bail applications were granted by the court but due to his incapacity to pay for surety are still detained in the prison. A separate list were made of these inmates for which IBJ India will try to find a solution by filing a petition in the Court for the same.

The awareness drive held saw a lot of inmates who participated by discussing their problems with our lawyers and brought a successful end to this event. The inmates often feels neglected detained in the jail for years, so this kind of awareness drive is useful to make them believe that they are not alone, there are people thinking about them, caring for their rights. As is the mandate of IBJ to spread awareness of ones rights and provide legal assistance, we hope, that our endeavor to educate the prisoner about their rights would ensure strengthening of rule of law and ensure that humanity dignity is preserved behind bars.

The session began with a brief introduction of IBJ and its Duty Lawyers Project by Mr. Ajay Verma. He moderated the discussions that followed and briefly touched upon the topics for the day’s session – bail as a right, juvenile justice, case laws pertaining to bail, and the importance of client-lawyer interaction.

There were about 350 undertrial prisoners who had gathered for the session. Most of them were first time offenders with detention periods ranging between 4 days to 11 months. The ones in detention for a longer period were accused of serious offences such as drug trafficking, dowry death and murder.

Mr. Verma began by asking two very basic questions to the prisoners. He asked how many inmates did not have lawyers and how many had not applied for bail. About 20 prisoners said they did not have a lawyer, and about an equal number of inmates said they hadn’t filed for bail at the time. Those who had not filed for bail either did not know that they were eligible for bail or they did not have a lawyer who could file a bail application on their behalf.

Mr. Verma emphasized on the right to bail in bailable and other petty offenses.  He also made it clear that if the police or the prosecution had failed to file charges within the stipulated time-frame (60-90 days from the date of arrest), then the accused had a right to file for bail. Upon hearing Mr. Verma’s presentation on right to bail, a few inmates began to inquire about the nature of their offences and their eligibility for bail. Among those present, there were also five foreign nationals (from Nigeria) for whom a separate question and answer session was conducted in English.

Mr. Avinindar Singh alluded to a recent Supreme Court judgment on the right to bail and answered some of the questions related to bailable and non-bailable offences, fair trial and the court’s role in granting bail to the defendant. Ajay Verma steered the talk towards the efficacy of client-lawyer interaction and said that interaction is key to the success of any case. He laid the onus on the clients as much as the lawyers to ensure there’s a fair trial.

On Christmas Eve, IBJ India with complete support from Delhi Prisons visited Jail No. 7 of Tihar, which houses prisoners between the age group of 18-21, and decided to bring in the gift of Knowledge and Legal Representation. The group comprised of Ajay Verma, IBJ India Fellow; Rajesh Mahajan, Advocate, Additional Standing Counsel of Delhi Police before Delhi High Court, Jitendra Ratta, Volunteer Lawyer working with IBJ; Aditya Kumar, Advocate volunteering with IBJ; Pallavi Saxena, Advocate interning with IBJ. The intention behind the visit was to have an interactive session with the young prisoners and to create awareness about their rights. The group of prisoners present for the session were all mostly aged 18 years, or as many stated even 17 years. The Superintendent of the Jail told the group about the purpose of the visit, and then the session began with introduction of the group members.

As the purpose of the visit was to create awareness about The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, along with its basic provisions, it was introduced to them, and they were repeatedly told that they were all entitled to a Free legal aid, if unable to afford legal representation. As the discussion progressed, many spoke about the grievances that they have, such as one prisoner stated that even though he had put in a request to the court, no lawyer has been provided to him.

It was understood from this discussion, that many in this group are illiterate, and thus completely unaware as to the specifics of their case. Further, some 20 prisoners stated that they were below the age of 18 years, and without any legal representation. Thus it was decided to deal with the prisoners on one-on-one, and gather information about their cases, so corrective action can be taken. As there were 5 members of the group that were present, each spoke to the prisoners individually and details about their case was gathered. Around 40 cases have been taken up by IBJ India, wherein 50% of the prisoners have stated that they are below 18 years of age. Many instances were revealed wherein the ‘system’ has faltered, one specific instance is that of one deaf and dumb prisoner, who has been in the prison for the past 8 months. As there was no way to understand him, a phone call was made to his brother whose number was written on his forearm. The prisoner, according to this brother, is 17 years of age, but no notice has been taken of this fact. Thus, it is IBJ’s endeavor to provide legal representation to all these cases, and to take corrective action for the children stating their age to be less than 18 years on a priority basis.

The visit was a small effort in understanding the plight of the children who are on the brink of the adulthood, yet not completely there. Lastly, the visit was scheduled for the Christmas Eve, so as to provide a positive outlook to the children, and cakes were distributed to the children to spread the Christmas Cheer! Needless to say but this is one of the positive initiatives of Prison Administration to work with the NGOs to make the prisoners aware about their rights.

]]> http://www.ibj.org/2011/12/launch-of-information-booklet-rights-and-duties-of-jail-inmates/ Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:40:03 +0000 http://www.ibj.org/wp_main/?p=2730 The morning of Saturday, the 5th of November, 2011, was when the above-mentioned booklet was launched in Jail Number 4 of the Tihar Jail Complex, in the august presence of Hon’ble Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri, Acting Chief Justice, Delhi High Court, Hon’ble Ms. Justice Mukta Gupta, Judge, Delhi High Court, Mr. Neeraj Kumar, Director General, Prisons. The initiative was a result of the collaboration of  International Bridges to Justice (IBJ), India and Delhi Prisons. IBJ was represented by its Indian Fellow, Mr. Ajay Verma. The event commenced with the opening ceremony at the Mini-Stadium of Jail Number 4, with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp and an ode to the Indian Goddess of Knowledge, through Sarasvati Vandana, which was beautifully sung by a team of convicts.

Thereafter, the welcome address was delivered by Mr. Neeraj Kumar, DG(P). He outlined for the dignitaries and the audience, the various initiatives undertaken by the prison authorities to ameliorate the condition of the inmates, as well as to empower them by providing them with the tools and skills they would require to make their lives outside of prison productive and gainful. Noteworthy among these initiatives were, the literacy campaign launched this year, entitled, “Padho aur Padhao”, provision of music rooms in every Ward of the prison, in collaboration with an N.G.O that provides the authorities with music teachers. The literacy campaign has been a resounding success, drastically increasing the literacy rate among inmates, which is now pegged at 80%! With such dramatic improvement, and continuous efforts, Tihar Jail may just acquire the distinction of being the first Central Jail in the country to have a cent-percent literacy rate. Another initiative that must find mention was the Placement Drive, held by the jail authorities, in order to find the inmates, who have completed their terms, appropriate employment. The DG(P) mentioned that the drive was a success, and that buoyed by it, they intend to hold the third installment of the drive in mid-November. He also mentioned, that, the prison authorities have sent a proposal to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, to establish semi-open prisons, whereby the inmates may be permitted to leave the jail premises during the day, and find employment outside, and return at a designated time in the evening.

The booklet itself covers important topics, such as, the food that should be served, clothes that should be provided, visitation rights, health check-ups, compilation of prohibited items, information pertaining to education, financial assistance and lastly, legal aid. The legal aid information includes details of bail, parole, furlough and release.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri, in his address, compared a jail sentence to Lord Ram’s vanvas (exile), and said that the prison term can be constructively utilized by the inmates to reform themselves. He struck an emotional chord with prisoners, when he mentioned that many of them might feel that they have been wrongly imprisoned, or that they have not committed a crime, or have been given a sentence that they feel is disproportionate to their crime; he advised them to treat it as their kismet, and to move forward and not become bitter individuals, and that they should take every opportunity that is available to them, and come out stronger and better individuals. He lavished praise on the jail authorities for the commendable job that they were doing in the upkeep of the prison and their laudable initiatives. He ended on a practical note, highlighting the need to start a practice of issuing a character certificate to the inmates, in order to help them in finding gainful employment once their terms end. Lastly, paintings made by the prisoners were gifted to the Dignitaries. The ceremony concluded by the delivery of the Vote of Thanks by the DIG(Prisons), and was followed by High Tea.

The formal sessions started with Mr. R. K. Saxena, Former Inspector General, Rajasthan Prisons and Honorary Consultant with CHRI, who dealt with Administrative Reasons for Non-Appearance before the Courts. Various examples were cited wherein the police officials fail to bring the accused out of judicial custody for a hearing and then ask for remand or they give an excuse of non-availability of escorts. All these instances are clear violation of the concept of Fair Trial, as the same requires the accused to be aware of every aspect of his/her case. Further, he also explained the reasons as per law, which affords the liberty of absence of accused from the court. These reasons are illness of the accused which has to be accompanied with a medical certificate, if the release time is shorter than time taken to travel from jail to court, and lastly if a special permission has been obtained by the government. There was a specific mention of right to protected conversation, which is basically a right provided to the lawyer to meet the prisoner alone.

Second session of the day was led by Mr. Ajay Verma, and he spoke about the concept, ‘Liberty is Paramount’. Here, Mr. Verma not only spoke about the importance of communication between the accused and the lawyer, but also questioned the need for custodial interrogation when the accused and the lawyer are co-operative in every step of the way. This session was followed by another one, which dealt with Remand and First Appearance, and was jointly headed by Mr. Anshuman Saxena, Advocate in Rajasthan High Court and Mr. Ajay Verma. Initially the focus was on provisions under Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 22 of the Constitution, subsequently, few cases dealing with these aspects were discussed. Mr. Saxena, made the session interesting and interactive by throwing out offences to the participants and asking them the period of detention that is permissible by law. Mr. Verma spoke about Hussainaira Khatoon v. State of Bihar, and the principles that have been expounded by the Supreme Court.

The day came to an end with a session on Bail not Jail, a concept explained in Moti Ram v. State of  Madhya Pradesh, by Ms. Sugandha, Project Officer with CHRI. This session was largely interactive in nature, as the focus was on role playing. Here, few case studies were distributed and young lawyers were given an opportunity to argue the case on bail provisions in front of the judges, Mr. Anshuman Saxena and Mr. Verma. This session was concluded with round of questions, and the participants were requested to provide their feedback. The workshop was an effort to provide lawyers with all the knowledge and techniques, so they are able to provide effective representation to the accused, and to sensitize them towards the problems that are faced by the accused on a regular basis.

First Session of the workshop dealt with Rights and Problems of the Accused behind Bars, and was chaired by Mr. R. K. Saxena, Former Inspector General, Rajasthan Prisons and Honorary Consultant with CHRI. He started the discussion by focusing on the premise that every individual is innocent until proven guilty and is required to be dealt with accordingly; also, the problems faced by under trials were stressed. The questions that followed the discussion were answered effectively and to the satisfaction of the participants. The following session focused on Client Interview and was moderated by Mr. Ajay Verma. Mr. Verma made the session interactive from the very beginning by starting qawwali session, wherein, the participants were divided in two groups of lawyer and client, and were asked to sit on opposite sides. What followed was an active discussion from both sides that revealed the problems that a client or a lawyer might face while interacting with each other. It was emphasized by Mr. Verma that it is necessary to build a relationship with the client and the importance of showing concern to the client and the case. In other words, the client should not feel that he/she is merely another file to the lawyer as this leads to poor getting poor justice and effective advocates remain out of reach to them.

The day continued and the post-lunch session articulated the Duties of Defence Lawyer, and the same was jointly chaired by Mr. Anshuman Saxena, an Advocate in Rajasthan High Court, and Mr. Ajay Verma. All the duties as laid down by the Bar Council were enumerated and, further the requirements that a lawyer should fulfill, when the client is poor, in order to give provide effective representation were discussed. An insight was shared by Mr. Saxena, wherein he mentioned that a proper legal aid case can work as a spark for you and it will open the gate for many cases. Last session of the first day was by Ms. Aarthi Ranjan, an advocate, and dealt with Elements of Fair Trial. The day ended on the note that fast track courts does not mean fast track convictions but fast track judgments, as fair trial also means a trial without undue delay.

Second day of the workshop started with a recap of previous day, and a session dealing with Common Illegalities – Standards, Practices and Remedies followed. This session was led Ms. Abha Joshi, Advocate and an Activist, and the same was informative in respect of various illegalities that are suffered by the undertrials or even convicts. The center of this session were four case studies that were distributed amongst the lawyers present and the discussion was on the basis of the same. These four case studies were of a juvenile accused of theft, a life term convict who was tortured in jail, a Dalit undertrial who died while in judicial custody, and lastly, of an accused who was encountered when he tried to abscond. It was pointed out by Ms. Joshi that illegalities occur everywhere and it is the duty of a lawyer to challenge them. Another point of importance that was spoken about was Plea-bargaining, and how the lawyers should not agree to something that they might regret at a later date. A documentary called ‘Bol Basanto’ was screened for the audience and the same dealt with the atrocities committed by police officials. The message highlighted in the documentary was that the police is not above law but is for the protection of law.

The last session of the workshop was a Panel Discussion on Common Practices that Contribute to Delays. The Panel was constituted of Ms. Joshi, Mr. Verma and Mr. R.K. Saxena and was moderated by Mr. Anshuman Saxena. The ways to deal with delays were discussed and to rectify them in the best interest of the client. The lack of a Magistrate or a Police Official in the Panel was felt, as that would have provided insight of the other side as well.

The workshop concluded by presentation of gifts to the resource persons as a token of appreciation and gratitude by Mr. Mohun. A promise was made by the advocates present to implement the insight provided by the workshop in their endeavor to become successful trial court advocate

A total of 50 warders and head warders from District Jail Alwar, Rajasthan participated. A retired IG, from Rajasthan Prison Shri R.K. Saxena stressed that all those who are in jail are also human and deserve the humane treatment. Though the warders are at the lowest rank in jail administration but they have maximum contact with the accuseds and prisoners hence they have maximum responsibility for reformation and conflict management between them and the inmates. He stressed  that prisoners are human beings, not case files. The court has punished them once; and they are not supposed to be punished daily. It’s in the hands of Prison Staff to inspire the inmates and spark a change in their lives.

An Exercise about “Your perspective of Prison” was done by circulating a  comprehensive list of various elements associated with the concept of a jail like walls, bars, grills, handcuffs, beating, torture, monotonous food, restrictions on access to family and friends, ban of use of mobiles and various restrictions imposed on Inmates was conducted with a view to know what they visualize about the same.

Mr. T.S. Madaan, a motivational Speaker focused on complete personality development of warders and stress management. He generated enthusiasm in the participants and made an attempt to de stress their minds. He emphasized that one should control their emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety, happiness, stress before they control oneself. According to  him “We all have the controls with us.  He said that lion is a dangerous animal, he eats other animals. But still we don’t hate him as it is his nature.  Mr. Madaan touched upon the use of effective communication skills and emphasized that listening is more important than speaking. It is important to come down to others’ level to understand them and only then we can bring them to our level. We have to put ourselves in other’s shoes to overcome the communication barriers. The idea of this session was to make the staff understand the improtance of effective communication with inmates.

Mr. Ajay Verma, Advocate and Fellow of International Bridges to Justice along with Mr. Anshumaan Saxena, An advocate from Jaipur in the last session of the day discussed the basic legal provisions of bail and parole with the warders. Mr. Ajay said that about 65% of prison population in India is under trials and most of them do not know their rights and duties. It is the duty of the warders and Head warders as guardian to inform accused about their right to bail and parole. Mr. Anshuman told the participants about Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Evidence Act in brief. The participants were requested to study basic and common provisions of Criminal procedure and Penal Code  so that they have knowledge about bailable and non-bailable offences. Which will help them to inform the accused about their right to Apply for bail. Often it is seen that the accuseds do not know their right to get Bail in case the Investigating Agency fails to file Charge-Sheet (Final Investigation Report).

The Second day  began with felicitation of Mr. Omendra Bhardwaj, Director General, Rajasthan Prisons, who was the guest of honor. Mr. Omendra Bhardwaj, in his opening address said that the complex jail organization is not run by DG or Superintendents or jailors, but it is run by warders and head warders. He emphasized that the responsibility of reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners ultimately lies on the shoulders of warders who can bring them dignity and happiness. The purpose of jails is to reform a person so that he is a better human being when he goes back to society. It is duty of courts to punish the offenders, but jail staff is not supposed to punish them daily. He suggested them to empathies with the inmates and never to crush their self-respect. The
attitude, communication skills and body language of jail staff matters a lot while dealing with the most ignored and vulnerable section of society. Prisoners have a right to reform.

 The next session conducted by Mr. Ajay Verma, Advocate and Fellow of International Bridges to Justice and Ms. Sugandha, Advocate and Consultant of CHRI who enlightened the participants about various issues in a jail in a very innovative way. With the help of a video clip, they told the jail staff best ways to help people lodged in jails who are without lawyers, what to do if the family doesn’t know that they are in prison, how to deal with the most vulnerable like mentally ill prisoners, juveniles etc. It was  an activity based session where all the warders were divided in the groups of five. then they were instructed to discuss the changes they want to see in their prison and best possible practices they want to follow. After that each group presented their findings in a creative manner in form of writings or drawings. The various suggestions that came were to keep the prisoners occupied, to listen to the inmates who are depressed, informing their families. The warders thought that they should take initiative to increase the reliability between convicts and jail staff and work as their legal parents. Some also suggested the ways to keep the premises green and environmental friendly.

The workshop was ended with the panel discussion chaired by Mr. Bhardwaj, Director General Rajasthan Prisons, Mr. Rakesh Mohan, Jail Superintendent, Alwar Prison and Mr. R. K. Saxena, Former I.G. Rajasthan Prisons. This exercise was an attempt to remove communication barrier between the Prison Staff and The Senior Officer of Prison Authority.

The day’s session began with the inauguration of the workshop by Hon’ble Mr. Justice R.S.Chauhan (Judge, Rajasthan High Court).

He emphasized that lawyers should be armed with the knowledge of forensics and medical science as well when dealing with criminal cases. A good criminal lawyer is a good psychologist he said. “You will have to cross examine every type of witness differently” said Justice Chauhan. He stressed that advocates should understand people before they understand the laws. According to him golden rule of effective cross-examination is that every lawyer must study the charge sheet, FIR, statement of witnesses very carefully as lawyers have to contradict the witnesses when they give their statements. The site of crime should be visited, post mortem report should be studied, and the site plan must be compared with facts stated. He emphasised that books on medical jurisprudence should be studied very utmost care. He pointed out that at the time of cross examination, there is hardly any Narcotic Test or Brain Mapping on the spot; in such a scenario, body language of a person and his gestures such as eye movement can be very crucial.

Next Session was taken by Mr. Ravi Yadav a leading criminal defence lawyer in Jaipur practising at the Rajasthan High Court who about The Common Rules and Tips on examination and cross examination of witnesses. He highlighted the golden rule to be observed at all times that a good lawyer never looses his temper in court even if the case is going against him. Patience always pays. He mentioned that “whenever you read a charge sheet, a picture should start running in your mind. In cross-examination, the ‘charge’ should be the priority. Keep in mind that you have to demolish the charge, and ask questions accordingly.”

Mr. Ravi Yadav, a Leading Criminal Defence Lawyer from Jaipur Rajasthan focusing on The Common Rules and Tips on examination and cross examination of witnesses.

Third Session session focussed on the importance of examination of  Expert witnesses (Specially Medical Experts). Dr. Sumanta Dutta , Asst. Prof., Forensic Medicine Department) from SMS Medical College, Jaipur gave a detailed presentation on the importance of examination of expert witness and how knowledge of medical science can benefit the advocates in cross-examination of medical experts in a trial. Dr. Dutta prepared a presentation on Human Anatomy and according to him every lawyer should know that thoroughly. He explained the most delicate parts of the body and how failure of some organs can cause sudden death. He stressed that a defence lawyer must be aware of all these things and should utilize the information that scientific medicine can furnish.

Dr. Sumanta Dutta , Asst. Prof., Department of Forensic Medicine SMS Medical College, Jaipur (Extreme RIght) Explaining Human Anatomy

The last session was a mock demonstration of cross-examination of witnesses by Ajay Verma, Advocate, Fellow, International Bridges to Justice. A scenario was prepared and explained to the students. It was murder cases where the few Participants were asked to play different characters and the other Participants were then asked to cross examine them. The idea was to have each participant an experience of art of cross examination by participating in the simulation exercise. The participants seemed very enthusiastic about this exercise and realised cross examination is not such an easy nut to crack.

Mr. Ajay Verma showing Demonstration of Mock Cross Examination with the Assistance of a Volunteer Participant

A Participant experience a Mock Cross Examination of Witness

Participants

One of the participants was very excited and shared in the feedback that that this was his first workshop of this type by which he gained valuable knowledge and it will be definitely help him in effective defense if accused.

Left: Dr. K.N. Pillay delivers inspiring open remarks. Right:  Legal Aid advocates engage in a discussion about their practices and share experiences.

Those who attended the workshop included legal aid lawyers (public defenders) with a varying amount of trial experience and officials from the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) (the government authority
charged with administering legal aid in New Delhi), including Ms. Asha Menon, Member Secretary of the DLSA.

The workshop was split into three sessions.  Dr. K.P. Kylasanatha Pillay, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, delivered introductory remarks that inspired the legal aid lawyers about the purpose of the workshop and their profession in legal aid law. The workshop first included an open discussion amongst the lawyers about the challenges they are facing as legal aid attorneys.  The lawyers also provided comments on what they would like to see in IBJ’s 2nd Edition of the Criminal Defence Resource Manual, a project currently underway.  This discussion was very productive, as these trial advocates communicated the problems they are facing (for example, not having a court file on time or not having access to the latest legal resources). Additionally, the trial advocates made important suggestions on the Criminal Defence Resource Manual, such as including sentencing issues.  The results of these discussions will shape IBJ INDIA’s current and future efforts and programs.

Second, the workshop included a one-hour interactive seminar on cross-examination and client interview techniques.  This session was led by Andy Haas, volunteer lawyer for IBJ.  The attorneys used a fact scenario that was distributed to them before the event.  At the workshop, for the client interview exercise, participants divided into groups of two, and one participant assumed the role of the client and the other assumed the role of the attorney.  The client was provided special instructions to fabricate answers during the first minute. After the session, the participants assuming the role of lawyers shared what the information they received. When attorneys found out that some of the information they received were fabricated, they discussed techniques on how to avoid such a pitfall.  Conversely, when attorneys received crucial information from the client, they shared the types of questions they asked to get such information.  For the workshop on cross-examination, the pairs reversed roles (the attorney who earlier acted as a client now became an attorney).  The attorneys practiced their cross-examination techniques to elicit crucial information for the case.

Top left:  Volunteer lawyer Andy Haas supervises and engages with Legal Aid advocates on cross-examination and client interview techniques.  Top right:  Volunteer lawyer Puneet Kakkar moderates discussion on challenges facing Legal Aid lawyers today.  Bottom:  Legal Aid lawyers prepare for interactive training sessions.

Third, the workshop concluded with remarks by Mr KTS Tulsi, one of the renowned criminal law advocates, who discussed his experiences.  Mr. Tulsi discussed the importance of thorough fact investigation and how to bring out those facts during criminal proceedings.  Further, the participants heard from Justice Pradeep Nandrajog of the Delhi High Court.  Justice Nandrajog, who is reputable for his opinions in criminal law, spoke to participants about the nature of their work and his perspective of effective criminal advocacy, including cross-examination of expert witnesses.

Left: Mr. KTS Tulsi addresses advocates about cross-examination.  Right: Honorable Mr. Justice Pradeep Nandrajog engages in an interactive discussion on criminal law.

After the event, participants continued to hold inspiring discussions informally over High Tea.  Participants expressed the importance of having dialogues that analyze the current state of the legal aid system in India, and meeting with their colleagues to exchange stories, learn about successful methods, and grow together as legal aid advocates.

The discussion was started by Ajay Verma, Fellow of IBJ & Chairman IBJ INDIA by introducing International Bridges to Justice and its works in India. He also focused the  importance of understanding moral responsibility of Lawyers in effective Justice. He also urges the Lawyers of Kotputli to team up to improve the Legal Aid System in Kotputli.

 

Ajay Verma, Advocate Introducing IBJ and Appealing to all to team up to improve the Kotputli’s Legal Aid Work

 

.                         Former President of Kotputli Bar Association Addressing the Participants

Shri V.K. Gaud, Additional Superintendant of Police, Kotputli provided insight to the participants on importance to examine the police witness and urged the need of district investigation centers equipped with the Cameras and Modern facilities for for examination of suspects. This way transparency and allegation of police torture can be reduced.

                                           Shri V.K. Gaud, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kotputli

Mr. V.K. Gupta, ADJ said that because an accused may be a victim, legal aid is necessary for them as well and the common person can also stand for his case but has more emotions and less knowledge of the law so they need the help of a responsible advocate. In addition, it is the duty of an advocate to treat his client properly.

                      Shri V.K. Gupta, Additional District & Sessions Judge, Delhi  Addressing the Participants

                Mr. V.K. Gupta, AD & SJ, Delhi and Shri V.K. Gaud Additional Superintendent  of Police, Kotputli

Shri Sher Singh, Principal of Tagore Law College focusing the Role of Law Students in Legal Aid

Many advocates also spoke on how they felt about the legal system in their Jurisdiction. They suggested that while advocacy is a noble profession, there should be counseling on how to deal with clients. They also encouraged that advocates should push for mediation and compromises in criminal cases instead of jumping right into court. In addition, they said that each advocate should have one legal aid case a month and the legal aid committee should provide facilities for legal aid lawyers so there can be more lawyers doing legal aid work. These advocates said that when they come across a poor person, they do what they can to guide him whether or not he is their client. Participants found the discussion to be helpful and encouraging and requested another panel discussion be held with the Bar Association in the near future. Professor Sher Singh also wants to do a campaign coordinating his students in villages with IBJ India.

                                           Print Media Journalists in the Event

At the end of the sessions it was requested by the Bar Leaders to organize another panel discussion at the court complex. Ajay Verma, Advocate & Fellow IBJ urged and got assurances from the Law college Principal to team up with the Kotputli Bar Association to improve the Criminal Justice System and Legal Aid work in Kotputli. Bar. Law college offered its willingness to conduct legal Aid clinic, Right awareness in Rural area with the supervision of IBJ INDIA and Bar Association. Soon IBJ India would be organizing a right awareness camp in the rural areal of Kotputli.Rajasthan

Blog by Anisha SIngh, IBJ India Intern