Covid-19 And The Under-Trial Prisoners: Interpretation Of Right To Health Under The Ambit Of Article

Kanimozhi T, LL.M., IIT Kharagpur

ABSTRACT

The criminal Justice System of India is evidently a model of the colonial jurisprudence of the British which is modeled in such a way that it aims to leading the nation. It was during the British rule that the formalisation of criminal laws took place and wistfully it stays roughly the same even till today. In the first part of the paper the author attempts to fathom the term under-trial prisoners. The paper also directly focuses on the pathetic condition of undertrial prisoners with the background of India’s criminal justice system while outlining the existing legal provisions such as Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Constitution and others. The second part of the paper focuses on how the covid-19 pandemic uncovered the susceptibility of the criminal justice system in India . The paper finally focuses on how covid-19 bestowed the opportunity in considering the right to bail as a part of the right to life of an undertrial prisoner by virtue of article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Keywords: Criminal Justice System, Under-trial prisoners, Covid-19 pandemic, Article 21, Bail.