Hyderabad: A 26-year-old man continues to languish in jail despite being granted bail as he could not pay the surety deposit demanded by the court. But finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement to provide support to poor prisoners, for penalty or surety, will come as a huge relief to the accused and many others who are in a similar situation.
According to an estimate, 100 such prisoners in Telangana cannot afford to pay their bail sureties.
The accused in question was arrested in two POCSO cases, but got bail in both cases previously and paid the sureties. But, as he jumped bail, he was remanded to judicial custody again. He said that he spent all his savings in the first instance and has no money.
A senior official with the Telangana Prisons Department said that there are around 7,000 inmates in prisons, of whom around 2,500 are convicts. “Once the detailed guidelines are updated, we would get more clarity on who will be eligible and how assistance would be provided to them. In most cases, the earnings from the work prisoners do during their stay suffices to pay the penalties,” the official said.
Senior advocate N. Shrawan Kumar welcomed the decision, but said it lacked clarity on how prisoners would be identified for this benefit. “Further, if the government pays the amount for bails and penalties, who will stand surety for the prisoners?” he asked.
