SANJIT SAHA & ANR.versusTHE STATE OF WEST BENGAL

                 [2023] 15 S.C.R. 83 : 2023 INSC 1085



                            CASE DETAILS
                         SANJIT SAHA & ANR.
                                     v.
                   THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL
          (Special Leave Petition (Crl.) D. No. 46699 of 2018)
                           OCTOBER 09, 2023
                      [K. V. VISWANATHAN, J.]

                             HEADNOTES
     Issue for consideration: Matter pertains to the steps/guidelines
to be taken in cases where despite the convicts surrendering within the
time granted by the Supreme Court but no communication forthcoming
on or before the matter was listed in Chambers and due to lapse in the
communication, peremptory dismissal of the Special Leave Petition.
      Supreme Court Rules, 2013 – Ord. XXII r. 5 – Special Leave
Petitions in Criminal Proceedings – Surrendering by the accused –
Lapse in the communication – Effect:
      Held: Convict has to surrender to the sentence before filing the Special
Leave Petition unless an application for exemption from surrendering is
filed – Judge In-chambers has the power to exempt from surrendering or
to refuse exemption – When a Judge In-Chamber grants time to surrender,
at the next hearing, the Judge has to be informed as to whether the convict
has surrendered or not – If exemption from surrendering is refused and the
accused does not surrender, the matter should be placed before Chamber
judge for non-prosecution – On facts, both the petitioners surrendered within
the time granted by Supreme Court but however there was no communication
forthcoming on or before the matter was listed in Chambers and due to lapse
in the communication, Special Leave Petition were peremptory dismissed
– Jail authorities were under obligation to communicate to the Court
information about their surrender irrespective of whether the convict has
engaged a counsel or not – This is a means of providing access to justice,
a facet of Art. 21 – Petitioners, even though in custody, were not apprised
by the jail authorities of the peremptory dismissal of the SLPs – Had they
                                     83
84           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 15 S.C.R.


been communicated, they would have taken remedial steps without loss of
time – Petition of petitioner No.1 was restored, however petition of petitioner
No.2 abated – Urgent steps to be taken so that these eventualities do not
occur again – In view thereof, guidelines necessary as to the further course
of action, in cases where after refusal of exemption from surrendering,
the information is not forthcoming to the Court – Judge In-Chambers can
appoint an amicus curiae in cases where counsel is absent – Registry in such
cases could call for a report from the trial judge who may, with appropriate
directions to the concerned police and the Jail Authorities report the actual
state of affairs – Guidelines. [Para 15-19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29]
     Information and technology – Digitisation – Availability of upto
date information for the court as regards surrender and custody
particulars of the convicts – Need for:
      Held: Mechanism to be evolved whereby, the Jail authorities would
upload on a customised web portal, the surrender and custody particulars of
the convicts with the corresponding numbers of the Criminal Appeals/Special
Leave Petitions, such that all up to date information would be available on
a click of a button. [Para 30]
       LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES
      Mohd. Sukur Ali v. State of Assam [2011] 3 SCR 209 : (2011) 4 SCC
729; Madan Lal Kapoor v. Rajiv Thapar and Others [2007] 9 SCR 686 :
(2007) 7 SCC 623; Bani Singh and Others v. State of U.P. [1996] 3 Suppl.
SCR 247 : (1996) 4 SCC 720; Suk Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal
Pradesh [1986] 1 SCR 590 : (1986) 2 SCC 401; Madhav Hayawadanrao
Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra [1979] 1 SCR 192 : (1978) 3 SCC 544;
Sunil Batra (II) vs. Delhi Administration [1980] 2 SCR 557 : (1980) 3 SCC
488 – referred to.
       OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED
              ORDER AND APPEARANCES
      CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition
(Crl.) Diary No.46699 of 2018.
     From the Judgment and Order dated 05.07.2018 of the High Court at
Calcutta in C.R.A. Nos.151 and 188 of 2014.
  SANJIT SAHA & ANR. v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL                          85


     Appearances:
     Anil Kumar, Pradeep Kumar Mittal, Advs. for the Petitioners.
       JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT
                                 ORDER
     1. The facts of this case raise issues touching upon Article 21 of the
Constitution of India. The petitioner no. 2 – Anil Saha along with petitioner
No. 1 – Sanjit Saha filed a common Special Leave Petition before this Court
on 13.12.2018 challenging the judgment and order dated 05.07.2018 passed
by the High Court at Calcutta passed in CRA No. 151 of 2014 with CRA
No. 188 of 2014. The petitioners had challenged their conviction under
Section 376(2)(g) of the Indian Penal code and the sentence of rigorous
imprisonment for 10 years and the direction to pay a sum of Rs.20,000/- as
fine and in default to suffer imprisonment for six months.
      2. The Special Leave Petitions were duly supported by an affidavit of
Anil Saha – petitioner no.2 sworn on 13.12.2018. The Special Leave Petitions
were accompanied with an application for exemption from surrendering.
     3. The application for exemption from surrendering came up before
the Learned Chamber Judge on 01.03.2019 when the following order was
made, in the presence of the counsel for the petitioners:-
     “Application for exemption from surrendering is rejected.
     Six weeks’ time is granted for surrendering and produce the proof
     thereof.”
      4. Thereafter, the matter came up for hearing on 24.02.2020 before
the Learned Judge In-Chambers and the Learned Judge after noticing that
learned counsel for the petitioners has not filed proof of surrender, granted
two weeks’ further time to file the surrender proof. The order indicates that
the counsel engaged was not present at the hearing. It was also ordered that
if the surrender proof is not filed within two weeks from 24.02.2020 the
Special Leave Petitions were to be dismissed without any further reference
to the Court.
86           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2023] 15 S.C.R.


      5. On 25.09.2023 before me, as a Chamber Judge, three applications
filed by the petitioner No.1 – Sanjit Saha came up for hearing. A
Miscellaneous Application (Diary No.19330/2023) was filed by petitioner
no. 1-Sanjit Saha for restoration of the Special Leave Petitions along with
an application for condonation of delay and for recalling of the court’s
order dated 24.02.2020. I.A. No.113070/2023 was for condonation of
delay in filing and I.A. No.95673/2023 was for recalling of the Court’s
order.
      6. On being satisfied that the petitioner No.1 had surrendered on
15.03.2019 itself, the Special Leave Petition was restored insofar as
Petitioner No.1 was concerned. It was noticed that since petitioner no.1
and petitioner no.2 had filed a common Special Leave Petitions and only
petitioner no.1 had taken steps for recall by pointing out that he has in fact
surrendered on 15.03.2019, an order was passed to conduct an enquiry about
the status of the surrender of petitioner no.2.
      7. For the sake of convenience, the order dated 25.09.2023, passed in
the applications of Sanjit Saha, Petitioner No. 1, are set out herein-below:
           “Delay condoned.
           The application for exemption from surrendering filed by the
     applicant came up for hearing on 01.03.2019 before the Judge In-
     Chambers. The applicant was given six weeks’ time to surrender
     and file proof thereof. Thereafter, the matter came up for hearing on
     24.02.2020 before the Learned Judge In-Chambers and on the ground
     that surrender proof had not been filed an order was passed to the
     following effect:-
           “Perused Office Report dated 21.01.2020.
           By order dated 01.03.2019, Hon’ble Judge, In-Chamber,
     has rejected the application of the petitioners for exemption from
     surrendering. By the very same order six weeks’ time has been granted
     to the petitioners to surrender and produce the proof thereof.
          In spite of time granted, learned counsel for the petitioner has
     not filed proof of surrender of the petitioners so far.
SANJIT SAHA & ANR. v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL                         87


        Two weeks’ further time is granted to learned counsel for the
  petitioners to file proof of surrender of the petitioners failing which
  the special leave petition(s) shall stand dismissed without any further
  reference to the Court.”
        No surrender proof having been filed on or before 09.03.2020,
  the SLP stood peremptorily dismissed. Now the applicant has filed
  an application on 05.05.2023 setting out that after the order of this
  Court dated 01.03.2019, the applicant surrendered on 15.03.2019 and
  surrender proof was sent to the then Advocate-on-Record. However,
  it appears that the said proof of surrender was not filed in Court and
  also there was no appearance on 24.02.2020 when the matter came up
  for hearing. This had resulted in the order dated 24.02.2020. It further
  appears that the Advocate-on-record who was originally engaged had
  passed away on 10.04.2021.
        It is averred that the son of the applicant, after making
  enquiries, has now taken steps to engage a new Advocate-on-Record
  and through the new Advocate-on-Record the present application
  for recall of the order dated 24.02.2020 and to restore SLP(Crl)
  D.No.46699 of 2018 has been filed. The application is supported
  by a copy of the detention certificate issued by the Superintendent
  of Balurghat Central Correctional Home, which indicates that on
  15.03.2019 the applicant was in custody. The Certificate also sets out
  the total period of custody including custody till 27.04.2023, which
  is the date of the Certificate.
       Since the applicant, in obedience to the order of this Court
  dated 01.03.2019, has surrendered on 15.03.2019, I find merit in this
  application.
        The applicant filed the Special Leave Petition challenging the
  conviction under Section 376(2)(g) of the Indian Penal code and the
  sentence of rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and the direction to
  pay a sum of Rs.20,000/- as fine and in default to suffer imprisonment
  for six months.
        The Special Leave Petition has been filed on behalf of the
  petitioners – Sanjit Saha and Anil Saha assailing the judgment of the
88           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 15 S.C.R.


     High Court dated 05.07.2018 in Criminal Appeal No.188 of 2014. Both
     the petitioners in the Special Leave Petition had filed Criminal Appeal
     No. 188 of 2014 on the file of the High Court at Calcutta.
          The application for exemption from surrendering was also filed
     on behalf of the accused Anil Saha. The order of 01.03.2019 was passed
     on behalf of the said accused Anil Saha also. In fact the affidavits in
     support of the Special Leave Petition and the interim applications as
     well as the affidavit in support of condonation of delay in refiling are
     filed by the co-petitioner Anil Saha.
           It is not clear as to what is the status of surrender with regard to
     the said co-petitioner Anil Saha. Let a report be called for from the
     Additional Sessions Judge, 2nd Fast Track Court, Raiganj as to whether
     the said Anil Saha who was convicted by the said Sessions Judge in
     Sessions Case No.76/2012 (S.T. No. 52/2012) by judgment dated
     06.01.2014 (and was sentenced originally to 12 years imprisonment
     by the Trial Judge which was modified to 10 years R.I. along with
     fine and default sentence by the High Court at Calcutta in Criminal
     Appeal No.188 of 2014) has surrendered to undergo his sentence. The
     Additional Sessions Judge, 2nd Fast Track Court, Raiganj may take
     the assistance of the Jail Superintendent in the District to elicit the
     information within two weeks.
           Considering that it is a matter of personal liberty and considering
     the fact that the accused Sanjit Saha has in fact surrendered on
     15.03.2019 and is in custody, interest of justice requires that his
     Special Leave Petition be heard on merits. In fact the default was only
     in reporting compliance. The peremptory dismissal is only on account
     of delay in reporting compliance.
           The applicant cannot be prejudiced for the delay in reporting
     compliance which is also occasioned additionally due to the passing
     away of the Advocate-on-Record on 10.04.2021. Hence, the delay
     is condoned and the application for recall is allowed. The order
     dated 24.02.2020 is recalled insofar as petitioner no.1 Sanjit Saha is
     concerned. The SLP is restored to the record as far as the petitioner
     no. 1-Sanjit Saha is concerned.
  SANJIT SAHA & ANR. v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL                         89


           Insofar as the accuses Anil Saha is concerned, let the matter be
     listed on 09.10.2023 in Chambers for further directions.”
     8. Today, when the matter was taken up, a report from the Additional
Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, 2nd Court Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur has
been placed before me. A report in the form of a letter to the Assistant
Registrar of this Court has also been placed before me. The letter reads as
under:
     “Office of the Additional Sessions Judge, FTC, 2nd Court Raiganj,
     Uttar Dinajpur
                     No. 316 dated, the 07th October, 2023
     From
            Manik Lal Jana
            Additional Sessions Judge, FTC, 2nd Court
            Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur
     To
            The Assistant Registrar,
            The Supreme Court of India, New Delhi
     Ref : Compliance report in connection with PID:
     196216/2023 in Diary No. No. 46699/2018 (SEC II B)
                                       &
     In the matter of Order dated 25.09.2023 in Miscellaneous Application
     Diary No(s) 19330/2023 (Sanjit Saha vs. State of West Bengal)
                                       &
     Sessions Case No. 76 of 2023 (Sessions Trial No.52 of 2012)
     Sir,
           In compliance to the order referred above, I, most humbly, submit
     the following report directly to the Hon’ble Supreme Court as I am so
     directed by the Hon’ble High Court, Calcutta.
     1.     The Convict Anil Saha surrendered before this Court on
            15.03.2019 and send to Raiganj District Correctional Home to
90           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                        [2023] 15 S.C.R.


           suffer sentence. (Order no. 81 dated 15.03.2019 of this Court –
           Annexure-1)
     2.    Convict Anil Saha is kept in the Raiganj District Correctional
           Home till 17.03.2023 and transferred to Balurghat Central
           Correction Home on 17.03.2023 for suffering sentence. He
           expired in the Balurghat Correctional Home on 26.05.2023.
           (Report of Supdt., Balurghat Central Correctional Home
           forwarded by Supdt. District Correctional Home, Raiganj.
           -Annexure-2)
           This is for kind perusal of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
           With regard.
                                                           Yours faithfully,
                                                         (Manik Lal Jana)
                                                Additional Sessions Judge,
                                                  FTC, 2nd Court, Raiganj,
                                                           Uttar Dinajpur”
     9. Along with a letter the order sheet of 15.03.2019 of the Additional
Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court – II, Raiganj is also annexed which reads
as under:
                             “Sessions Case No. 76/2012
     81/15-03-2019: Record is put up by put up petition filed today on
     behalf of the convicts along with surrender petition.
           Perused. Heard. Considered. The put up petition is allowed.
          Two convicts namely Sanjit Saha and Anil Saha surrendered
     before the Court. Let both the convicts be taken into Judicial custody.
           On perusal of the record it appears that one judgment was passed
     by the Hon’ble High Court, Calcutta dated 05-07-2018 in c/w C. R.A.
     No. 151 of 2014 and C.R.A. 188 of 2014 and the Hon’ble High Court
     convicted both the above named convicts with a direction upon both
     the convicts to surrender before this Court and also directed this Court
     to send both the convicts after surrender to the District Correctional
     Home, Raiganj.
  SANJIT SAHA & ANR. v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL                           91


           On receipt of the copy of Judgment this Court issued W/A against
     both the convicts but they were not arrested by police. Subsequently,
     both the convicts surrendered today before this Court. Accordingly,
     both the convicts are taken into custody.
          Let both the convicts namely Sanjit Saha and Anil Saha be sent
     to Raiganj District Correctional Home at once.
           The Superintendent of Raiganj District Correctional Home is
     directed to take necessary steps as per direction of the Hon’ble High
     Court.
          Let a copy of this order along with the copy of judgment dated
     05-07-2018 passed by the Hon’ble High Court be sent to the Raiganj
     District Correctional Home for information and taking necessary
     action.
           Issue Jail Warrant accordingly.
           B.C.I-I to comply.
           Recall W/A at once.”
     10. A custody certificate from the Office of the Superintendent,
Balurghat Central Correctional Home has also been placed before me. The
custody certificate also shows that the petitioner no.2 had surrendered on
15.03.2019 and was admitted to Balurghat Central Correctional Home on
17.03.2019.
      11. Most importantly, the custody certificate carries the remark
that petitioner no.2-Anil Saha has expired on 26.05.2023 and as per the
postmortem report, the cause of death was due to the effect of diseased
condition of organs – a natural cause. The custody certificate also shows that
the petitioner no.2 had undergone a period of about four years two months
and eleven days sentence at the time of his death.
    12. From the facts in para 1 to 11 above, the following aspects clearly
emerge:
      i. Firstly, in obedience to the order of this Court dated 01.03.2019 and
well within the time granted by this Court, petitioner no.2 - Anil Saha (like
petitioner No.1 – Sanjit Saha) surrendered on 15.03.2019.
92            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2023] 15 S.C.R.


      ii. Secondly, petitioner No. 1 - Sanjit Saha has taken steps to move an
application for recall pointing out that soon after surrender he had informed
his counsel, who for various reasons including the fact that the counsel’s
death happened on 10.04.2021 could not report the fact of surrender to this
Court.
      iii. Thirdly, this has resulted in the peremptory dismissal of the Special
Leave Petitions since no surrender proof was filed within two weeks from
the order dated 24.02.2020. The situation was in spite of surrendering to
custody on 15.03.2019, for want of communication, the Special Leave
Petitions of both petitioners also stood peremptorily dismissed as per the
order of 24.02.2020.
     iv. Lastly, it was only while ordering the restoration of the Special
Leave Petition of petitioner no.1 and on the ordering of an enquiry, it has
surfaced that the petitioner no.2 has in fact surrendered on 15.03.2019.
      13. As pointed out earlier, Petitioner No.1 Sanjit Saha has filed an
application for recall. His Special Leave Petition has already been restored
vide order In-Chambers dated 25.09.2023. In all likelihood, Petitioner No.2
Anil Saha, also, must have also communicated the same, since the counsel
was the same. Counsel was not present before the Judge In-Chambers on
24.02.2020. It has also come on record that unfortunately the counsel had
also passed away on 10.04.2021.
      14. Petitioner no.2 – Anil Saha has passed away on 26.05.2023 and
he has not been able to avail the Constitutional remedy of appeal by special
leave, which he was legitimately entitled to, since he had surrendered on
15.03.2019 and as such was entitled to a hearing on his Special Leave
Petition.
     15. Order XXII Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 reads as
under:-
     “5. Where the petitioner has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment,
     the petition of appeal shall state whether the petitioner has surrendered
     and if he has surrendered then the petitioner shall, by way of proof
     of such surrender, file the certified copy of the order of the Court in
     which he has surrendered or a certificate of the competent officer of
     the Jail in which he is undergoing the sentence. A mere attestation of
  SANJIT SAHA & ANR. v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL                          93


     the signatures on the Vakalatnama from the jail authorities shall not
     be considered as sufficient proof of surrender. Where the petitioner
     has not surrendered to the sentence, the petition of appeal shall not be
     accepted by the Registry unless it is accompanied by an application for
     seeking exemption from surrendering. Where the petition of appeal is
     accompanied by an application for exemption from surrendering, that
     application alone shall be posted for hearing/orders before the Court
     in the first instance.”
     As is clear from the above that ordinary rule is that a convict has to
surrender to the sentence before filing the Special Leave Petition unless an
application for exemption from surrendering is filed.
      16. Under Order V Rule 2(35), the Judge In-chambers has the
power to exempt from surrendering or to refuse exemption. In the event
of refusal of exemption and in the event of not surrendering, the matter
is placed before the Chamber Judge for non-prosecution. Order V Rule
2(35) reads as under:
                                    Order V
                         BUSINESS IN CHAMBERS
     2.The powers of the Court in relation to the following matters may be
     exercised by a Single Judge sitting in Chambers,
     “35. Application for exemption from surrendering, provided that not
     more than one opportunity be granted for surrendering. In case of
     refusal and/or if accused do(es) not surrender, the matter be placed
     before the Hon’ble Judge in Chambers for non-prosecution.”
      17. The legal position is when a Judge In-Chamber grants time to
surrender, at the next hearing, the Judge has to be informed as to whether
the convict has surrendered or not. If exemption from surrendering is
refused and the accused does not surrender, the matter should be placed for
non-prosecution. The Judge In-Chambers should be posted with the clear
information as to whether the accused has surrendered or not surrendered
after refusal of exemption. The problem has arisen in this case due to
a communication gap. I feel urgent steps need to be taken so that these
eventualities do not occur again.
94            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2023] 15 S.C.R.


      18. Guidelines are necessary as to the further course of action, in cases
where after refusal of exemption from surrendering, the information is not
forthcoming to the Court. Information may not be forthcoming for myriad
reasons - counsel’s non-appearance, counsel’s death or for any other reason.
      19. In the present case, both the petitioners had surrendered within
the time granted by this Court but however there was no communication
forthcoming on or before 24.02.2020, when the matter was listed in
Chambers. Thereafter, it has come on record that the counsel engaged also
passed away on 10.04.2021.
      20. This Court has in several cases held that when counsel does not
appear in a criminal case, the Court is obliged to appoint an amicus. [See
Mohd. Sukur Ali v. State of Assam, (2011) 4 SCC 729]. It has also been
held that in the absence of counsel, the case should not be decided and that
a criminal case cannot be dismissed for default. [See Madan Lal Kapoor v.
Rajiv Thapar and Others, (2007) 7 SCC 623 and Bani Singhand Others
v. State of U.P., (1996) 4 SCC 720]. This Court has held that free legal
assistance for the poor and indigent at State cost is a fundamental right of a
person accused of an offence even if the accused does not seek. [See Suk Das
v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh, (1986) 2 SCC 401]. In Madhav
Hayawadanrao Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra [(1978) 3 SCC 544] right
to counsel to a prisoner has been recognised and traced to Article 21.
     21. Since the matter directly engages with Article 21, there is a positive
obligation vested on the part of the jail authorities to communicate to the
Court information about their surrender and period of detention irrespective
of whether the convict has engaged a counsel or not.
      22. In M.H. Hoskot (supra), it has been also recognised that procedural
safeguards are the indispensable essence of liberty. Prisoners being confined
to the four walls of jail are very often incommunicado with the outside world.
This has been reiterated by this Court in several judgments.
      23. In this case, as is clear from the facts while the factum of surrender
happened, it is only in the communication of the surrender that there was
a lapse.
     24. A positive obligation vests in the jail authorities to communicate the
factum of surrender of the convict to the Court. This is a means of providing
  SANJIT SAHA & ANR. v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL                             95


access to justice, which again is a facet of Article 21. The Chamber Judge/
Court may depending on the information received, thereafter pass such
orders as are deemed fit.
     25. The Model Prison Manual, 2016, para 8.62 states as under:-
     “Communication of Appellate Orders
     8.62 On receipt of an order disposing of an appeal, the purport thereof
     shall be communicated to the prisoner concerned in the presence of
     the Superintendent who shall enter on the order a certificate to the
     effect that it has been so communicated. Whenever a prisoner has been
     transferred before the receipt of orders on his/her appeal, such orders
     shall be forwarded, without delay, to the Superintendent of the prison
     in which the prisoner is confined.”
      26. It appears from the record that the petitioners, even though in
custody, were not apprised by the jail authorities of the peremptory dismissal
of the Special Leave Petition(s). If even the peremptory dismissal of the
Special Leave Petitions had been communicated to the petitioners herein by
the jail authorities, they perhaps would have taken remedial steps without
loss of time. The petition of petitioner No.1– Sanjit Saha has been restored.
The petition insofar as petitioner No.2 – Anil Saha has abated. Liberty under
Section 394 CrPC and/or principle analogous thereto for the relatives is
reserved.
      27. Recurrence of the unfortunate scenario, that has happened in the
present case, ought to be prevented. One option could be for the Registry
in cases where surrender proof is not filed by the counsel and there is no
information as to whether the convict has surrendered or not surrendered,
(in spite of time being given to surrender), to call for a report from the Trial
Judge. Additionally, the Judge In-Chambers can appoint an amicus curiae in
cases where counsel is absent to coordinate with the Registry and the trial
Court to find out about the actual state of affairs with regard to the factum
of surrender.
     28. A cue can be taken from Sunil Batra (II) vs. Delhi Administration,
(1980) 3 SCC 488 wherein Krishna Iyer, J. in para 78 (3) recorded the
following:-
96             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 15 S.C.R.


      “78 (3) Lawyers nominated by the District Magistrate, Sessions
      Judge, High Court and the Supreme Court will be given all facilities
      for interviews, visits and confidential communication with prisoners
      subject to discipline and security considerations. This has roots in the
      visitatorial and supervisory judicial role. The lawyers so designated
      shall be bound to make periodical visits and record and report to the
      concerned court results which have relevance to legal grievances.”
       29. Even if there is a default in reporting compliance by the party or
counsel for whatever reason, the right to have a constitutional remedy under
Article 136 of the Constitution of India or remedies by way of statutory
appeals ought not to be defeated. The trial Judge may, like in the present case,
with appropriate directions to the concerned police and the Jail Authorities
report the actual state of affairs. The trial judge may avail the services of
the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the Duty counsels of the
jails. Calling for information would also ensure that if the convict has not
surrendered and is evading surrender, steps are taken to bring the convict
to justice.
      30. The long-term option would be in the digital era to evolve a
mechanism whereby, the Jail authorities are vested with an obligation to
upload on a customised web portal, the surrender and custody particulars
of the convicts with the corresponding numbers of the Criminal Appeals/
Special Leave Petitions. This will ensure that on a click of a button, all up
to date information are available for the Court.
     31. Let the papers along with this order be placed before Hon’ble the
Chief Justice of India.


Headnotes prepared by:                          Papers alongwith this order be placed
Nidhi Jain                                                        before Hon’ble CJI