On March 24, 2022, the Gauhati HC granted four weeks’ time to the State and the Union of India (UOI) as a last opportunity to file their respective affidavits in connection with the public interest litigation filed by CJP raising concerns over the quality of legal aid to be provided to those in Assam whose names do not figure in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Advocate Mrinmoy Dutta appeared for CJP. The case has now been listed on April 27, 2022 for which Senior Counsel Mihir Desai is likely to appear.

In its order dated November 23, 2022,the Gauhati High Court had asked the Centre as well as the Assam State Government to indicate their stand on provision of funds.

Previously, the Assam State Legal Services Authority (ASLSA) filed an affidavit in this petition, on February 1, 2022, stating that it has made endeavours to train its staff in citizenship matters however is lagging in financial resources for providing aid to the large population that has been left out of NRC. In the said affidavit, the Authority also admits that on account of lack of financial resources, the state government needs to revisit the budget allocation to enable it to provide the requisite legal aid. This is a significant admission on record of the ASLSA’s inability to provide adequate legal aid to all those who might need it, and it is high time that the Assam state governmentproves its commitment to the NRC processby allocating sufficient funds to the legal aid authorities in the state.

CJP’s petition

In its petition, CJP had sought directions to the state to formulate effective and robust modalities for legal aid in terms of having trained lawyers and adequate front offices in light of the several pending appeals to be filed before Foreigners Tribunals (FT) by people from marginalised sections to prove their citizenship. The plea emphasised that those excluded cannot be deemed non-citizens till the remedies available before them are exhausted, and unless the marginalised among them are not provided adequate legal aid, they would suffer irreparable loss and injury.

The organisation raised concerns before the court that since NRC-excluded people are required to file an appeal within 120 days, there would not be sufficient funds for such persons to engage legal counsel and get legal aid in such a short span of time. Hence, the plea also contended that legal aid be provided by the ASLSA as well as the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) to the aggrieved people.

CJP’s survey of DLSAs

CJP had gone one step further and conducted an independent survey (November-December 2019) in 10 districts of Assam to assess the preparedness of District Legal Services Authorities (DSLA) which revealed that the front offices were either not present or the ones that had front offices were inadequate in terms of space or in terms of staff.

We also found that personnel were not trained in Citizenship laws, NRC related procedures, Immigration law or the Foreigners Act, in any of these 10 DSLAs, even though in-depth knowledge of all these laws, procedures and Acts are vital for offering quality legal assistance toNRC-excluded people who will now have to defend their Indian citizenship before Foreigners’ Tribunals.

Our survey also found that only 10 cases have been handled by the counsel of these DSLAs so far; all by Dhubri DLSA: 7 in 2019, and 3 in 2020.

SC judge’s observations on quality of legal aid

On March 26, 2022 while addressing the Judges, Lawyers and Legal services provider at the Maharashtra State Level Conference on the topic Early access to Justice at Pre-arrest, Arrest and Remand stage, Justice UU Lalit, the second most senior judge of the Supreme Court and the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA), spoke about the importance of providing quality free legal aid services.He said, “Free legal aid does not mean poor legal aid, free legal aid must mean quality service.” As reported by LiveLaw, he expressed his concern about the extremely low percentage of cases which landed up with the Legal Services Authority and stressed upon the need to induct talented and committed persons.

More details about the petition filed by CJP may be read here.

The order may be read here: 

Related:

CJP’s Assam Legal Aid Petition: ASLSA indicates shortage of funds for providing legal aid to those excluded from NRC
CJP’s Assam Legal Aid Petition: Gauhati HC asks Centre and State to indicate stand on funding
CJP’s Guwahati legal aid petition: State fails to file an affidavit
Assam DSLAs woefully understaffed, staff under-trained to handle FT cases
Assam Paralegal Training Workshop

The post CJP’s Legal Aid petition: Gauhati HC gives State of Assam and UoI one final chance to file affidavits appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In a shot in the arm for the Legal Aid machinery in the State of Assam, the Gauhati High Court has asked the Centre as well as the Assam State Government to indicate their stand on provision of funds. This was in connection with a petition filed by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) seeking directions to the state to formulate effective and robust modalities for legal aid for people from marginalised sections who have been excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and will now be required to prove their citizenship.

A deluge of such applications could overwhelm the Legal Aid system given how over 19 lakh people were excluded from the NRC and will now be required to defend their Indian citizenship before Foreigners’ Tribunals (FT). Our petition asked for adequate provisions to be made in terms of trained panels of competent lawyers, and adequate front offices.

Senior counsel Mihir Desai  and advocate Mrinmoy Dutta appeared for CJP. The case has now been adjourned till December 6, 2021.

Brief background of the Petition 

CJP has played an integral role in providing paralegal and legal assistance to those excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC), to help them gather requisite documents that will make their case for citizenship stronger before the FTs. CJP’s Assam Team’s continuous on-ground efforts included responding to distress calls from remote areas, on a daily basis. It is through this three-and-a-half-year effort, the team noticed that there was a lack of concerted efforts being made by the state government for providing legal aid to those excluded from NRC, despite directions to this effect by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Why has the petition been filed? 

The petition seeks clarification on a press communication issued by MHA on August 20, 2019 which stated that legal assistance would be provided to those excluded from NRC, those who are in need of such legal aid.

In early 2020, CJP petitioned the High Court on the issue with three families of those excluded. Senior counsel Mihir Desai assisted by Advocate Mrinmoy Dutta appeared in the matter. The petition was withdrawn after the Hon’ble High Court opined that this was a fit case for a public interest litigation.

From April 2020 to November 2020, the organisation was involved in detailed correspondence and representations to both the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the Assam State Legal Services Authority (ASLSA).

As CJP is actively involved in ground-work it never came across any concerted efforts in furtherance of the 2019 communication issued by MHA, and thus submitted a representation before Secretary of Home Department in Assam for framing scheme and modalities for providing effective legal aid to the NRC left outs. CJP also asked the Home Department about what steps had been taken by the government so it can, through its widespread ground-work, create awareness among the people in need.

The petition emphasises that those excluded cannot be deemed non-citizens till the remedies available before them are exhausted, and unless the marginalised among them are not provided adequate legal aid, they would suffer irreparable loss and injury.

The Assam State Legal Services Authority (ASLSA) finally responded in November 2020 stating that it has enough machinery to deal with any action taken by the government with regards to NRC. The ASLSA letter also revealed that only two Taluk Level Legal Services Authorities are functioning, while there are 78 taluks in the state. The letter also states that once rejection slips are handed out, legal camps can then be organised.

CJP’s survey reveals woeful state of Legal Aid machinery 

It was in response to this last communication that CJP, has in fact, gone one step further and conducted an independent survey in 10 districts of Assam to assess the preparedness of District Legal Services Authorities (DSLA) which revealed that the front offices were either not present or the ones that had front offices were inadequate in terms of space or in terms of staff.

It was also revealed that in none of the ten legal services authorities, were the personnel trained on Citizenship, NRC, Immigration or the Foreigners Act, all of which are germane to the impending situation of people having to appeal before Foreigners Tribunal to prove their citizenship. It also revealed that a total of 10 cases were handled by the counsel of these DSLA, all by Dhubri DLSA: 7 in 2019, and 3 in 2020.

The petition filed in the High Court points out how more such authorities need to be set up at Taluk level, otherwise the process of providing legal aid remains largely inadequate. 

Pleadings

The petition has prayed for writs to direct state authorities to appoint adequate legal aid lawyers and provide them with manuals so that uniform legal assistance is provided, to formulate modalities of legal aid for NRC left outs. It also prays that the court directs that unless necessary advance arrangements for legal aid are made, rejection slips should not be handed out to those excluded.

Through this petition, CJP seeks to have a state machinery ready to assist the marginalised sections, among the 19 lakh excluded from NRC, so that no rightful citizen gets deprived of his/her citizenship merely because of lack of proper and effective legal aid.

Additional considerations

Apart from the pleadings, the petition also places before the court certain suggestions for its due consideration:

• To set up Taluk level Legal Services Authority across all taluks
• Call for applications from those who are in need for legal aid at least 3 months before rejections slips are issued
• Basis these applications, modify front offices, empanel lawyers and paralegals, train them in citizenship laws, Foreigners Act and NRC
• Adequate monitoring committees for each taluk
• Set up legal aid camps for scrutinizing documents
• Draft Model appeal formats
• Appoint counsel with more than 15 years’ experience to guide conducting advocates
• Enable civil rights organisations like CJP to take trainings

The entire order may be read here:

Related:

Assam DSLAs woefully understaffed, staff under-trained to handle FT cases
Inadequate legal aid for NRC excluded persons, CJP moves Guwahati HC
CJP’s Guwahati legal aid petition: State fails to file an affidavit

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The India Justice Report (IJR) in its second edition released recently, found that Lok Adalats were able to settle pre-litigation cases with much success at the national level. As per the report, states have started utilising state funds for improving legal aid services but the goal is yet to be met as the area coverage of legal aid clinics in rural areas remains to be bleak.

The report, supported by Tata Trusts, has been brought together by Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS–Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and How India Lives.

The success of legal aid in the country is an indication of access to legal systems and to justice for the people, especially belonging to marginalised sections as they are unable to afford legal services. Improving the delivery of legal aid is essential for getting doorstep justice for all. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative’s status report on legal aid, released in 2018 suggested that almost 80% of India’s population is eligible for free legal aid. If such an enormous population depends on the state for legal aid, it is necessary that legal services provided by the state are adequate, up to the mark and accessible to the public.

There has been a significant increase in the number of beneficiaries with over 12 lakh persons receiving legal aid and advice in 2019. However, legal services institutions remain affected by a lack of infrastructure, uneven human resource distribution, poor utilization of central funds and an inability to effectively harness Lok Adalats to ease the burden on the judiciary, says the report.

In providing legal aid, Maharashtra ranked first in IJR’s 2020 rankings, with a score of 6.90 out of 10, moving from the 5^th position in IJR 2019 while Uttar Pradesh maintained its last position, with a score of 2.54 out of 10. As of March 2020, there are 669 district legal services authorities (DLSA). Arunachal Pradesh has sanctioned 5 DSLAs while having 25 districts and Uttar Pradesh has 71 DSLAs for its 75 districts.

Along with retainer lawyers, paralegal volunteers act as first responders for legal services institutions and connect local communities with the formal legal system while providing counselling and assistance with legal documentation. However, 25 states/UTs have seen a drop in the number of paralegals and overall their numbers have dropped 26 per cent from last year’s figure. In Himachal Pradesh the number of paralegals plunged from 5,700 to 270 which amounts to just 4 paralegals per lakh population. In Odisha they have 5 paralegals per lakh population.

Women in legal aid

As of March 2020, 145 DLSA secretaries or 28 per cent were women with Tripura having the highest share of women secretaries at 66% followed by Andhra Pradesh at 58%. The presence of a large number of women among legal services providers is also important for reaching out to a section that traditionally faces sociocultural barriers in accessing legal services, states the report.

Training

Effective legal aid comes from well trained legal service providers and between April 2019 and March 2020, only Haryana, Punjab and Odisha provided training to all their lawyers at least once, while Meghalaya and Goa did not conduct any training in that period at all.

Budgetary spends

Legal aid activities receive contributions from both the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the state’s own budget. NALSA funds go towards legal services activities, such as representation, Lok Adalats, counselling, legal advice and legal awareness. States’ funds are generally expended on staff salaries, office expenses and other infrastructure needs.

Nationally, utilisation of NALSA funds improved from 70.7 per cent to 94.2 per cent, while for large and mid-sized states, it moved from 77.13 percent to 96.07 percent, compared to 2019. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu utilised more than 90% of their NALSA funds. It is pertinent to note that NALSA’s budget fell from 150 Cr for 2018 – 2019 to 100 Cr for 2020 – 2021.

Legal aid clinics

NALSA (Legal Services Clinics) Regulations, 2011 suggests that there should be one legal aid for maximum 6 villages. Per the report, in March 2020, there were 14,159 legal aid clinics for 597,617 villages or on average one clinic for every 42 villages. Kerala, with an average of about two villages per clinic, presently has the best coverage amongst large and mid-sized states. Uttar Pradesh had one clinic for 520 villages.

It is also necessary for every prison to have one legal aid clinic. Amongst large and mid-sized states, Gujarat has the most clinics—49 across 30 prisons—while Punjab has 26 clinics for its 24 prisons.

Lok Adalats

The Legal Services Authorities Act mandates every state to have permanent Lok Adalats (PLA). West Bengal remains the only large and mid-sized state that has no Permanent Lok Adalat. In 2019–20, these PLAs settled 1,17,850 cases compared to over 1.24 lakh cases in 2017–18, per the data. On the other hand, National Lok Adalats disposed of 52.8 lakh cases.

Punjab and Maharashtra were able to settle most number of cases at these PLAs with Punjab having 84% settlement rate and Maharashtra with 83%. Lok Adalats also play a very important role of settling pre-litigation cases, which not only reduces the burden of courts but also lets parties in dispute to resolve the issue in a speedy manner without having to wait for the court to decide, which could take many years.

Out of the total cases settled by National Lok Adalats, 52.79 per cent were pre-litigation cases. Bihar had a pre-litigation disposal rate of 90% i.e., it was able to dispose of 2.51 lakh pre-litigation cases out of a total of 2.8 lakh. On the other hand states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh were unable to dispose of even 10 percent of the pre-litigation cases.

The complete report may be read here.

Related:

Jharkhand, Manipur case clearance rate of 100 per cent: IJR 2020

Faizan police brutality case: Delhi HC directs police to file affidavit on working CCTV cameras

Orissa High Court directs state to pay Rs. 5 lakhs for negligence causing custodial death

The post Maharashtra ranks highest in providing legal aid: IJR 2020 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels is one of India’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 as adopted during the United Nations General Assembly of 2015. A robust legal aid system is something that will contribute towards achieving this goal and will at the same time fulfil the objective of the legal aid law as well as the legislative intent.

November 9 is celebrated as National Legal Services Day as The Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 came into effect on this day in 1995. Legal aid in India is backed by this law as well as constitutional provisions under the Directive principles of State Policy as well as Fundamental rights. The law itself had the constitutional foundation under Article 39A which states, “The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.”

Further the fundamental rights under Article 14 that bestows the right of equality before law and equal protection of law also establishes the importance of legal aid to people who may have inadequate avenues to access justice and the legal system. The Article 22 (1) of the Constitution states, “No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice”. Thus, legal aid is not just a sustainable goal to be met but also something that the government is required to ensure as a fundamental right of all persons who may be detained under the law.

The law

The objective of the law is “to constitute legal services authorities to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, and to organise Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity.”

Under the law, apart from the Legal Services Authority at national level, every State is mandated to have one Authority at State level as well as one each for each of its districts. The main function of these authorities is to provide free legal services to the socially and economically disadvantaged and marginalised such as Women and Children; Members of Scheduled caste or Scheduled Tribes; Industrial Workmen; the disabled; Persons in Custody; Victims of Human trafficking or Natural Disasters, Ethnic/caste violence, industrial Disaster as well as persons with an annual income of less than Rs 1,00,000/- or as notified by the Central/State Governments.

The reality

The law may have laid out an ideal plan for making legal services accessible to all in conformation with the constitutional provisions but the reality in terms of its implementation is yet to fulfil the objective. As per the Annual report of the National Legal Services Authority, 2019, classes of persons receiving the least aid were Transgender community, victims of human trafficking as well as industrial workmen and persons with disabilities. In 2019, through all levels of legal services authorities, only 184 persons from Transgender community received legal, being the lowest number among all sections followed by 1,419 victims of human trafficking receiving legal aid. The figures also indicate that about 2.8 lakh women received free legal aid apart from 1.16 lakh scheduled castes and 1.32 lakh persons belonging to Scheduled tribes. Also, 2.04 lakh persons in custody benefited from free legal aid at State and/or district level.

A reading of the numbers clearly indicates that there are certain sections of the society that still need to be reached out and made aware about the free legal services they can avail of. The task at hand for the legal services authorities at the grassroots level is of utmost importance and it is their functioning that needs to be strengthened in order to expand the reach.

Related:

Women in prisons: 2019
Gram Sabha Resolution to aid defence of forest rights

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Image courtesy: https://cjp.org.in/assam/

Meanwhile, in a sharp reaction against the recent announcements –especially the one to provide legal aid and extend the deadline to file appeals to 120 days– the All Assam Students Union (AASU) has vociferously opposed these measures to assist those excluded. In a detailed statement published by the Assam Tribune on August 24, AASU has accused the government(s) of ‘going soft on illegal migrants.’

Meanwhile, in a lead editorial published today, the Assam Tribune has issued words of caution given the ground level situation likely to result with the publication of the NRC final list on August 31. The leading Guwahati-based newspaper argues that given the hundreds of thousands of exclusions that could result after the publication of the list, members of the Foreigners Tribunals must be individuals of competence. Serious questions on the competence and capability of the newly appointed members –with allegations of ‘targets’ being set by the state government – have been recently raised.

On the question of legal aid to those excluded, and AASU’s exceptions, the newspaper states that “there can be nothing wrong with providing legal help to the needy, as the NRC updating process –an executive exercise –will naturally be subject to judicial scrutiny. The basic tenets of justice require that those not having their name in the NRC must get the required access to legal resources to address their grievances.”  These are the basic, and non-negotiable, features of not just a society based on natural justice and the rule of law, but also on Constitutional principles. Unfortunately, a process that has had widespread social acceptance and sanction (a ‘just and fair’ NRC) has, over the past five years been manipulated and tainted by executive interference.
 

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JIH president Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri said, “We support public initiatives against communalism and for putting an end to mob lynching. No government can ignore popular and widespread public opinion.”

While addressing the monthly press conference in JIH office in Delhi, Umri said, “Mob lynching incidents can be best tackled through building public opinion and put pressure on the government through it to curb such incidents.”

JIH secretary general Muhammad Salim Engineer said the organisation has identified certain states where mob lynching incidents have taken place. A plan is being prepared to tackle the issue. Engineer informed that formation of legal cell for mob-lynching victims shall be included in this initiative.
Until now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued public statement at least three times, condemning mob lynching attacks. Moreover, the center has also asked states about the measure being taken to put a stop on cow vigilantism.

Umri said although the prime minister has condemned mob lynchings, the ground reality has not changed much. He demanded that the Centre and states take stern measures to check such incidents.

In the past also, Jamaat-e-Islaami Hind has come up in support of people facing state atrocities, violence or natural calamities. JIH has been active in various states for conducting ground level work during various situations. It was active in Gujarat after 2002 riots, JIH had spent enormous money and resources in building and repairing houses which were damaged during the riots.

JIH has also arranged food resources into the temporary shelters for the riot victims. it did the same Gujarat earthquakes.

JIH had earlier provided legal aid to the victims of the Gujarat riots and in Batla House encounter case. It is also actively involved in providing legal aid to terror victims through APCR (Association for Protection of Civil Rights),

Recently on June 7, Students Islamic Organization of India (SIO), a student wing of JIH, organized Roza Iftar where it invited families of mob lynching incidents.

Secretary general Salim Engineer told TwoCircles.net, “We shall extend legal help to mob lynching victims basically through APCR. However, presence of PUCL(People’s Union for Civil Liberties) and other organizations in the same regard shall also be there.” APCR, a human rights organization, has been fighting alongside of JIH for the victims of communal hatred and false terror cases.

Courtesy: Two Circles
 

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The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday allowed six victims of the 2002 Naroda Patia massacre to get case papers running into over 1.25 lakh pages free of cost from the registry of the court. Survivors backed by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP),a Mumbai-based civil rights and legal aid group had filed this application in early December 2016. The application may be read here.

Survivors had filed a petition earlier this month to get the case papers free of cost after the registry demanded Rs 1.18 lakh printing cost from them. The victims Fatimabibi Sheikh, Farzanabanu Pathan, Dilawar Saiyed, Jannatbibi Sheikh, Ishrat Jahan Saiyed and Ruksana Qureshi moved the application through advocate on record, K N Shashtri, seeking copies of the case papers without any charges.

During the hearing, a division bench of Justices Harsha Devani and A S Supehia asked the special investigation team (SIT) lawyer if the victims, who have also filed appeal petitions against 11 persons who were acquitted, can be given the papers free of cost.

SIT lawyer R C Kodekar told the bench that it is the discretion of the court to grant such requests, however, there is no such rule under the Code of Criminal Procedure and other relevant high court rules. Following the brief argument, the bench allowed the petition moved by the victims and ordered the registry to provide a copy of entire case papers without any charges. The case papers include the appeal petitions and judgment of the special designated court.

The High Court has also started hearing the appeal petitions on daily basis since Monday. The division bench is hearing the appeal petitions against conviction moved by 31 convicts, including former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babubhai Patel alias Babu Bajrangi. They are facing life sentence for their alleged roles in the Naroda Patiya massacre in which 97 Muslims were killed on February 28, 2002, when large scale riots had broken out in the state following the Sabarmati Express train burning incident.

During the hearing of the Sardarpura appeals, Survivors were greatly handicapped not having a copy of the case papers.

This appeal has run into a series of controversies.Criticising this practice which appeared to have been adopted in the controversial and sensitive Naroda Patia massacre case of the 2002 riots, to possibly deliberately engage an advocate who is a distant relative of Justice Akil Kureshi, the division bench of Kureshi and Justice Biren Vaishnav observed that instead of requesting the judge not to hear the case, the senior counsel should have refrained from appearing in the case as the judge does not hear the cases of that lawyer. This had happened on Friday, November 18. Before that,last year, two Judges of the Gujarat HC in open court had said that one of the accused had approached and even threatened the judges.

Meanwhile, both Maya Kodnani and Babu bajrangi,the high profile accusedhave got permamnent and temporary bail since their conviction on August 29,2012. At the last hearing of the appeal,Babu Bajrangi had pleaded for permamnent bail claiming that he was nearly one hundredper cent blind. He has been supported by a report of the jail doctor and medical team
 

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I N D E X

 
 
 
 
 
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
         DISTRICT: AHMEDABAD
 
MISC.  CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.            OF 2016
 
                                                          IN
      CRIMINAL APPEAL      NO.            OF 2016
 
 
 
 
Fatimabibi Mohammed Yusuf Shaikh & Ors                          …Petitioners                                      
V E R S U S
 
The State of Gujarat and Anr.                                                         …Respondents                                                      
                                     
                                                 LIST OF EVENTS
 
The petitioners are the original witnesses and victims of the offence.
The  criminal appeals filed by the accused as well as the petitioners and the State of Gujarat have been ordered to be heard together considering the fact that the impugned judgment and order is common.
28.07.2015 : An application was filed before the respondent no. 3 requesting to tender the copy of the paperbook to the victims who have lost their close family members. This request had been made earlier too by the petitioners. However, the request was declined on the ground that the petitioners must be required to pay Rs. 1.18 lac approx for the paperbook.
The petitioners can’t afford to pay such a huge amount, they are daily wage earners and are the Survivors of this brute act of targeted violence. Hence this petition.
 
 
 
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
         DISTRICT: AHMEDABAD
 
MISC.  CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.            OF 2016
 
                                                          IN
      CRIMINAL APPEAL      NO.  1812          OF 2012
 
 
 
 

1. Fatimabibi Mohammed Yusuf Shaikh Age:55
2. Farzanabanu Ayubkhan Pathan Age:40
3. Dilawar Umrao Saiyed Age:62
4. Jannatbibi Kalubhai Sheikh Age:55
5. Ishrat Jahan Parvez Saiyed Age:32
6. Ruksana Bundubhai Qureshi Age:37

Applicants residing at :-

1. Hukamsingh Ni Chaali, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad
2. Imambibi Ni Chaali, S. T. Workshop, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad
3. Hussein Nagar Gali No. 1, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad
4. Nr. Hukamsingh Ni Chaali, S. T. Workshop, Naroda Patiya, Ahmedabad
5. Nr. Hussein Nagar Ni Chaali, S.T.Workshop, Naroda Patiya, Ahmedabad
6. Javan Nagar Gali No. 12, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad.
   •  

( Original Witnesses/Victims)                                                                                          

V E R S U S

1. The State of Gujarat,

(Notice to be served through the
Ld. P.P. High Court of Gujarat
Ahmedabad)

1. Special Investigation Team,

Through its special public prosecutor,
Hon’ble Gujarat High Court,
Ahmedabad.               

1. The Registrar General ( Judicial),

Hon’bel Gujarat High Court,
Ahmedabad.                                                         …Respondents
                                                                             (No.2 -org. complainant)                            
Application u/s. 482 of Cr. P. C. obtaining paperbook in Criminal Appeal No.  1812/2012       and allied appeals.      
TO,
THE HON’BLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE OTHER HON’BLE JUDGES OF THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT.
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH: –

1. The petitioners are the original prosecution witness nos. 112, 106, 143, 142, 177 and 212 respectively in the Sessions Case Nos235/2009, 236/2009, 241/2009, 243/2009, 245/2009, 246/2009, 270/2009decided by the Ld. Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad. The petitioners herein have filed Criminal Appeal No. 1812/2012 u/s 372 Cr.P.C.The appealsfiled against the judgment and order of conviction have been filed by the accused whereas the appeals against acquittal have been filed by the petitioners being Criminal Appeal No 1812 of 2012.
2. The petitioners respectfully submit that the petitioners are victims of the offence of mass carnage where more than eighty innocent people were done to death. The petitioners are extremely poor and are unable to pay the court fee amounting to Rs. 1.18 lac approx. It is under these circumstances the petitioner’s lawyer had tendered an application to the registry dtd. 28.07.2015. Annexed as ANNEXURE: “A” to this petition is the copy of the application to the registry of this Hon’ble Court. The petitioners can’t afford to pay such a huge amount, they are daily wage earners and are the Survivors of this brute act of targeted violence.
3. The petitioners respectfully submit that there is no communication from the registry but the registry has been insisting for the payment of this preposterously huge amount againstthe paperbook. Now that the appeal is likely to proceed same request has been renewed on behalf of the petitioners but paying a huge amount is a big hurdle. The petitioners submit thatconsidering the impecunious conditions of the petitioners it would not be possible for them to bear the huge cost of obtaining the paperbook and thereby assist this Hon’ble Court in best possible manner. The petitioners further submit that the petitioners have not been rehabilitated by the state government by providing any house/ shelterand have been compelled to survive on their own. Under these circumstances if the petitioners are deprived of the paperbook it would be extremely difficult for them to assist this Hon’ble Court. The lack of access to the paper book would be a denial of natural justice to the petioners also Victim Survivors of a brute massacre.
4. The petitioners have not filed any other petition either in this Hon’ble Court or in he Hon’ble Supreme Court of India withregard to the subject matter of this petition, and having no any other equally efficacious remedy, this petition is filed.

   6.        The petitioners therefore humbly prays that this HON’BLE COURT BE PLEASED: –
(A)              YOUR LORDSHIPS be pleased to order the respondent no. 3 to allow the petitioners to get one set of the combined paperbook for Criminal Appeal No. 1812/2012 and allied appeals  in the interest of justice;
(B)              YOUR LORDSHIPS be pleased to grant such  other and further relief as may be deemed fit in the facts and circumstances of the case;
AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS AND JUSTICE THE PETITIONER SHALL AS IN DUTY BOUND SHALL FOREVER PRAY
 
Ahmedabad:                                                       (Kalpesh Shashtri)
 
Date:    /12/2016                                                   Advocate for petitioners
 
 
 
                                             A F F I D A V I T
 
I, , Age:. herein do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as under:-

1. I am Petitioner in the memo of the petition and am conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case and am competent to depose that what is stated herein above is true to the best of my knowledge information and belief and I believe the same to be true and correct.
2. I have gone through a memo of petition and I solemnly affirm and state what is stated in para nos. 1 to 6 are true to the best of my knowledge and information and para no. 6 is a prayer clause which is based upon legal advice of advocate.
3. I state that the Annexures are produced with the accompanying petition are true copies of their original documents.

Solemnly affirmed at Ahmedabad         on this       day, of December,  2016
                             DEPONENT
Explained and interpreted
To the Deponent by me
 
 
 

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