Jaipur bombing accused being denied legal rights
Submitted by admin4 on 7 September 2008 - 10:20am.
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Jaipur: The deadly virus directly affecting the sanctity of the Constitution, rule of law and fundamental rights of the accused is fast spreading as district bar associations, one after another, are denying legal services to and, in some cases, banning lawyers from representing Muslim terrorism suspects.
In the latest development, the Jaipur Bar Association has decided not to represent any of the accused in the May 13 Jaipur bombing in which 58 people were killed. By doing so, the association is accepting the police version blindly and taking the accused as convict.
In Uttar Pradesh, some district bar associations have banned lawyers from representing the accused in the court premises bombings that took place last year.
The Rajasthan police, which could not make any headway in 100 days after the blast, all of a sudden arrested seven people from Kota district in the state on August 25. On the same day Shahbaz Hussain as main accused was arrested from Lucknow. The Rajasthan police arrested four more persons from Kota on September 1. All these arrests were made in connection with the Jaipur serial blasts.
While the bar association has announced not to represent the terrorism accused, the seven people arrested on August 25 from Kota have filed bail applications as their remand is ending today (September 7). And Rajasthan People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) president advocate Prem Krishna Sharma has come forward to represent the accused, says a report in The Hindu.
Among the detained accused is an elderly physician Ishaq Qureshi. He has been arrested only because he knows some Sajid Mansuri, an alleged SIMI activist. Sharma has been quoted by the paper saying: “Merely knowing Sajid Mansuri who the Gujarat police claim masterminded the blasts does not make anyone criminal.” Sharma has decided to represent the accused in the Jaipur serial blasts, ignoring the pressure from his colleagues.
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Legal Aspect
The Supreme Court of India has held in the case of Hussainara khatoon v. Home Secretary State of Bihar AIR 1979 SC 1373 “It is an essential ingredient of reasonable, just and fair procedure to a prisoner who is to seek his liberation through court’s process that he should have legal services to him”. After this judgement the Indian apex court has held in a catena of cases that the legal aid is part of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and it must be provided by the state. When this plea was raised that good lawyers are not available due to meager amount offered to them the court held that state is under obligation to provide the services of good lawyers.
Article 39A of the constitution provides for free legal aid and in its furtherance the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 has been passed whereby from block/ Taluka level to the National level and from District Court level to Supreme Court level there is arrangement of legal services. In these circumstances if any lawyers’ association passes resolution to deny the legal assistance that is denying the entire judicial system of India which that can not do being association of officers of the court. More over Lawyer’s denial confirms that they have surrendered before the Indian police’s decision that who is terrorist and who is not. In other words Police dictates them to whom they will provide assistance and to whom not. Once His Lordship Justice S.B.Sinha of Supreme Court of India was delivering lectures and quoted a story of Pakistan journalist who asked how Indian democracy is successful. His lordship replied that it is due to strong judicial system of India. The legal ethics also compels the lawyers to assist an accused. If he is found guilty again he will be represented in the Higher Courts where he will be assisted.
In all these cases the accused persons may approach the Legal Services Authorities and Committees. The addresses of some of them are as under-
Gujrat Legal Services Authority, Administrative Building, 3rd floor, Shortwing High Court ComplexSola Ahmadabad- Gujrat Ph. 079-7494964
U.P. Legal Services Authority, 3rd floor, Jawahar Bhawan Annexe ,Lucknow-1 U.P. Ph.0522-280265
Rajasthan Legal Services Authority, , High Court Building , Jaipur-5 Rajasthan Ph.0141-383451
Email-legal@hcjaipur.raj.nic.in
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