Campaign to give legal assistance to family members of prisoners

Officials said that the campaign was aimed at offering legal and non-legal assistance to prisoners and their family members.

The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) on Wednesday launched a campaign to give legal assistance to family members of prisoners — under-trial and remand prisoners — lodged in Bhondsi jail.

Gurugram, India- August 07, 2019: District and Sessions judge, Ravi Kumar Sondhi and Chief Judicial magistrate (CJM) Narender Singh address a press conference at District Court, in Gurugram, India on Wednesday, August 07, 2019. The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has launched a campaign on Wednesday to give legal assistance to family members of prisoners - under trial and remand prisoners - lodged in the Bhondsi jail. (Photo by Yogendra Kumar/Hindustan Times) (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Officials said that the campaign was aimed at offering legal and non-legal assistance to prisoners and their family members.

District and sessions judge Ravi Kumar Sondhi said that the criminal justice system takes into account only two sets of people, that is, victims and offenders. “But there is another section which is not acknowledged by the system and that constitutes family members and dependents of the offenders,” he said.

The officials said usually the convicts or under-trial prisoners are the sole bread earners of the family. “This campaign for legal assistance to the family members of the prisoners will cover seven objectives, including loss of livelihood to the family and educational and health rights of children of inmates. We will also ensure the women family members of inmates get access to justice system and are not harassed. We are also working towards providing old age pension to parents of inmates,” said Narender Singh, chief judicial magistrate and secretary of DLSA.

In the first phase, the DLSA team screened 915 prisoners, including 534 convicts and 381 under-trials at Bhondsi jail. Around 91 convicts and 25 under-trial expressed need for legal assistance to themselves or their family members. “Most of the prisoners and their family members were provided legal assistance including those who are from outside Gurugram,” said Sondhi.