New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) What should come as good news for the tens of thousands of undertrials in the country, the government Monday said it would fast-track the criminal justice system to reduce their numbers by almost two-thirds in the next six months.
Expressing concern over the congestion of Indian jails, the huge pendency and long delays in the justice delivery system, Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily said the government has embarked on a “mission” to expedite justice in criminal cases not related to heinous crimes.

Addressing a media confernce, Moily said the government has asked all state high courts to identify undertrials who are not involved in heinous crimes and whose cases can be expedited.

“We want to dispose of as many as two-thirds of the under trial cases by July 31. It is challenging but achievable. The mission begins Jan 26,” the minister told reporters. He was speaking on the government’s initiatives regarding the judicial reforms process.

He said there were in excess of 300,000 undertrials in India, which amounts to 70 percent of the total numbers in jails in the country.

“Only 30 percent (of the total prisoners) are people actually convicted and imprisoned,” he said, adding that about 200,000 of the undertrials have been in jail for several years “essentially because of delays in the justice delivery system”.

Moily said the union cabinet has “in principle” agreed to operationalise and implement the national legal mission - “a step towards guaranteeing access to justice for every citizen, including those in jails”.

“The challenge to reduce undertrial cases is one such programme. We will institute measures to ensure that the miscarriage of justice that has given rise to such a large population of undertrials doesn’t occur.”

The minister said chief justices of state high courts have been asked to prepare a report “as fast as possible” about the people in jails, their offenses, the nature of cases, and the maximum punishment they can invite so these cases can be disposed off by July 31.

A special task force of lawyers and state law officers will be constituted for the purpose, he said. The government has plans to create more courts, he said.

“It is a mission oriented programme. We will do whatever possible to achieve it,” he said.

But the undertrials involved in heinous crimes and crimes related to national security cannot benefit from the move, he said.

“This doesn’t apply to preventive detention. It has nothing to do with national security (laws). It is applicable to criminals and accused involved in minor crimes,” the minister told IANS on the margins of the press conference.