"Where are we leading to? What's happening in this country?" a shocked Supreme Court asked Telangana government yesterday on finding that a man was kept in jail for almost a year on the mere suspicion of stealing five sarees in Hyderabad.
According to a report in The Telegraph the court was infromed that Ch. Eliah had been detained from March' 2016, under a preventive detention law called the Andhra Pradesh Prevention of Dangerous Activities of bootleggers, dacoits, drug offenders, goondas, immoral traffic and land grabbers act.
The state counsel defended the case by calling Eliah a serial offender for which an individual can be kept in jail for a year without any trial.
Advertisement
"Preventive detention, for theft of five saris? What's going on in the state of Telangana? You will start arresting everybody? Let us say he has stolen one sari, two saris or three saris - for that you arrest a person under prevention detention? What kind of people are you all?" Justice Khehar said rapping the state and warned to pass strictures if it failed to furnish a proper explanation.
Eliah moved the SC through his wife Shalini, after High Court refused to interfere with the order passed by the detaining authority, said the report.
An IndiaSpend data reveals that Between 2010 and 2014, 25% undertrials had been jailed for more than one year. The percentage of undertrials to total prisoners has remained over 65% during this period, reported Firstpost.
Advertisement
Of the total prison population in India, 67% are pre-trial detainees or remand prisoners
