India International Bridges to Justice

COVID-19 Response

On March 16, IBJ India Country Manager, Ajay Verma, drafted suggested guidelines for protecting prisoners with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. These were referred to in a case heard at the Supreme Court. On March 23, the Hindustan Times recognized Mr. Verma’s advocacy efforts in an article on the need to amend parole provisions in order to decongest Delhi’s overcrowded prisons. https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-prison-rules-to-be-amended/story-aMKPC5EdahyvtX1p9GOG1L.html
On March 25, the government of Delhi informed the court that they would be releasing pre-trial prisoners on interim bail for a period of 45 days. The IBJ India team continued to petition the courts, seeking direction for the safe passage of released prisoners in view of the impending release of a large number of inmates. Country Manager, Ajay Verma’s efforts were reported on again in a number of media outlets. https://www.indialegallive.com/top-news-of-the-day/news/provide-safe-transit-along-facilities-released-prisoners-application-supreme-court-94141 https://www.thequint.com/news/india/state-high-powered-committees-decongestion-jails-covid-19-supreme-court-order-not-enough
Ajay Verma was interviewed by the Huffington Post on how the government should tackle the issue of COVID-19 in prisons. https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/coronavirus-india-prisons_in_5e7c4c82c5b6cb9dc19a6b2c?guccounter=1

Impact in Numbers

1 Defender Rights Centre (DRC) in New Delhi.
Trained lawyers in 26 of 29 states
1,080 cases represented by IBJ lawyers
Conducted 33 legal awareness sessions in prisons and informed more than 7,000 detainees of their rights
Held 5 community legal awareness sessions reaching more than 2,000 people.
72 justice roundtables organized
9 justice roundtable discussions organized
19 training sessions which provided training to 891 legal stakeholders

Activities

IBJ’s India program kicked off in 2008 with an International Criminal Defense Training in New Delhi. Four Supreme Court justices, including the Chief Justice, 16 High Court judges, and over 130 Indian legal aid lawyers, representing 26 of the 28 states in India, participated in the event, with the San Francisco Public Defender’s office providing pro-bono training.

Since then, we have continued to expand our activities, including:

Pioneering our eLearning program
Creating a ‘Handbook on Prisoners’ Rights and Duties’ which is regularly distributed to prisoners.
Training of prisoners as paralegals with the Paralegal Centre of Ajmer Central Prison, a volunteer organization that works for the release and rehabilitation of prisoners. This has been done in partnership with the Prison Ministry.

MOUs + Partnerships

MOUs

National Capital Territory of Delhi

Partnerships

Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA)
Delhi Prisons (Tihar)

Country Background

India has a long legal tradition and is the birthplace of judicial activism in Asia. Legal infrastructure is in place and legal aid services are set up at national, state, and district levels. Yet the national pre-trial detainee rate is 68% of the total prison population. This means that India has one of the world’s largest populations of pre-trial detainees: approximately a quarter of a million people. Whether they are accused or merely suspected of having committed a crime, these people languish in overcrowded, unsanitary, and dangerous prisons–often for years at a time.

Sadly, police routinely turn to torture to coerce confessions as a substitute for investigation. According to reports, 14,231 persons died in police and judicial custody in India from 2001 to 2010. The National Human Rights Commission stated that between April 2017 to February 2018, there have been 1,530 deaths in judicial custody and 144 deaths in police custody. Four people die every day as a consequence of torture or mistreatment while in custody.

68% of the prison population is still on remand awaiting trial. “In criminal trials, the process itself is a punishment. Many under-trial prisoners end up doing their entire sentence without getting a full trial,” says Alok Prasanna, an analyst from the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

More Information on IBJ India:

“Psychological Aid for the Undertrials: A Community Outreach Project”was set up between IBJ and the Indraprastha College for Women in coordination with Delhi Prisons. https://www.ibj.org/2017/06/02/ibj-india-partners-with-young-students-to-assist-inmates-in-delhi-prisons/
IBJ India Country Manager Ajay Verma discussing prison reform in India: https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/kzxgw3/10-things-that-need-to-change-in-indian-prisons-ajay-verma
Over 200 Inmates Attend IBJ India’s Legal Rights Awareness Event at Tihar Jail: https://www.ibj.org/2015/07/11/ibj-india-hosts-legal-rights-awareness-event/

Profiles of our Courageous JusticeMakers Working in India:

Garima Tiwari is making a difference in educating lawyers about the supreme court’s guidelines on HIV/AIDS: https://www.ibj.org/programs/justicemakers/fellows/2012-hivaids-justicemakers-fellows/garima-tiwari/
Bijaya Chanda is educating pre-trial detainees and their families on their legal rights in West Bengal: https://www.ibj.org/programs/justicemakers/fellows/2010-asia-justicemakers-fellows/bijaya-chanda/

Please consult our Facebook page on all of IBJ’s current activities around the world: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalBridgestoJustice/