Say cops about one of the three women who used to work in the Tihar creche
Say cops about one of the three women who used to work in the Tihar creche
On December 25, last year, a city court, citing lack of evidence, declared Mwila Stelia Moranza, 46, Maureen Banda, 36 and Lubinda Sepiso, 50, innocent of charges of drug trafficking for which they had been arrested, and set them free.
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Jailed for what? The three Zambian women were lodged in Jail No 6 of Tihar |
However, ironically, the three women from Zambia had already spent seven years each in Tihar Jail for the 'crime'.
Worse, in most cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychtropic Substances Act (NDPS), convicts are sentenced to jail for 10 years.
While the three women, who ironically, are in the Lampur detention centre at Narela awaiting their travel documents, may lament the years wasted in jail for a crime they didn't commit, their case raises the question of who is to be blamed for such incidents of delayed justice? The Narcotics Control Bureau for its faulty investigation or the judiciary?
Finally free
On December 25, Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur of Dwarka court acquitted the three women arrested in 2002 and charged under Sections 21, 23 and 28 of the NDPS Act. The court said there was not enough evidence against the three.
Talking to MiD DAY, a Tihar jail official, wishing anonymity, said, "Moranza used to work in the jail's creche and take care of babies. Everyone called her Mummy. She used to cry and say she was innocent. She and the other two women were lodged in Jail No 6. It is sad that there are so many undertrails in the jail, especially booked under the NDPS Act, waiting for acquittal. Many of them spend years inside the jail before they are finally set free."
Court action
Last month, taking note of the increasing number of undertrials languishing in Tihar Jail, the Delhi High Court had asked the city police to submit a detailed record of people who were in jail for more than seven years. A division bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar asked the cops to submit the report.
They said, "This is a serious issue and needs to be looked at. We have seen undertrials spend more time in jail for offences that have less punishment. This is unfair."
The court was hearing a suo moto plea by advocate Manish Khanna, who had filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on the condition of undertrials in Tihar Jail. "This is a huge problem all over the country. In one particular case the court acquitted an undertrial after 16 years for an offence for which he was sentenced for only ten years. His appeal was never listed for hearing. When the court finally acquitted the man on February 8, last year, he had already completed his sentence six years ago," said Khanna.u00a0
In the case, one Ashok Kumar was booked under Section 21 of the NDPS Act in 1992 and was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1,00,000, failing which he would have to undergo simple imprisonment for one more year. Kumar was finally acquitted by the Delhi High Court on February 8 last year, six years after he had completed his sentence.
| Not the only case |
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Meanwhile, the MiD DAY had on November 12, 2009 reported how the Special Cell of the Delhi police had arrested five people, including one woman, for drug peddling in 2001. But they were later acquitted for lack of proof. The court acquitted the five, arrested for possessing drugs worth Rs 5 crore, calling the investigations and the statements of the police contradictory. |
