Prisoners in Gujarat jails file bail petitions before monsoons

In an unusual trend noticed at the Gujarat high court this summer, many prisoners lodged in different jails of the state sent petitions seeking release on temporary bail. The most common reason given by the inmates in support of their request is that they needed to repair their family houses before the onset of monsoon.

Prisoners can send petitions to the high court for temporary bail or any other relief. Usually, convicts or prisoners on trial seek bail on the ground of illness of a family member, death in the family or an auspicious occasion.

But this summer, their preferred reason for seeking release is that they need to be freed so that they could repair their houses. Another common reason given by prisoners is that they need to arrange for funds for the admission fees of their children.

For instance, one Pratap Ajmalbhai sent a request from Vadodara jail seeking release on temporary bail so that he could repair his house. The high court sought a report from the Vadodara jail authorities to verify the genuineness of Pratap’s request and his conduct as a prisoner. When the authorities sent a report stating that the prisoner was a man of good conduct, Justice Bela Trivedi granted him bail for 15 days.

In another case, the judge granted one Ramesh Budhiyabhai bail for 15 days on the same ground. Ramesh had sought release for 30 days, stating that he was needed for repairs to his house as nobody in his family could take care of it. He had submitted a certificate of the village sarpanch with his petition.

Ganpat Fatesinh, another prisoner, was released for 15 days though he had sought 90 days’ temporary bail so that he could repair his house. But not all requests for temporary bail on this ground are genuine.

The high court denied bail in a couple of cases where the petitioners were not deemed fit to be enlarged on bail. For instance, Vinu Virsing, who had sought release for 60 days on the same ground, was denied bail when the court found that the sarpanch's certificate submitted with the petition was not authentic.

In her order in the case, Justice Bela Trivedi observed that the sarpanch's certificate submitted by the petitioner 'did not inspire confidence'. It was on plain paper and seemed to have been written by different people in different handwritings, the judge stated in her order.

As for Pravin Ambalal, Chhagan Lallubhai and one Ansingbhai Bhikhabhai, they were not granted temporary bail as they had been released on the same ground earlier this year. 

The need to arrange for finances to pay the fees of their children is the other common reason given by prisoners in support of their request for temporary bail. For instance, one Ashok Nanjibhai had sought bail to be able to pay the fees for his daughter's education. The court granted his request and ordered his release for 15 days. Government pleader (GP) Prakash Jani takes a sympathetic view of prisoners seeking bail to repair their houses or to arrange money for their children's education.

"Most of these prisoners come from poor sections of society and their houses are vulnerable to the elements. That is why they file petitions before the onset of monsoon," Jani said.

He, however, added that this trend was rather pronounced this year. "Usually, inmates seek release for reasons such as death in the family, marriages, or illness of family members," Jani said.

The GP further said that the court seeks a report on the prisoner concerned from the local police and jail to ascertain the inmate's credibility. "It is only after verifying the genuineness of the request that the court refuses or grants bail," Jani said.