Women under-trials: An empirical probe into the functioning of the mechanism of bail

Abstract

Imprisonment adversely affects both men and women but it tends to affect women more adversely than men. Women under trial prisoners form a special category of women prisoners who have to endure the prison life despite of their guilt not proven in the court of law. Women under trial find the experience of imprisonment more difficult than those sentenced. The trial process is slow and costly. The prolonged and uncertain stay in the prison during trial makes their condition pathetic. In such a circumstance the provision of bail comes as a boon to women under trial prisoners. It is an alternative to detention during trial. The Indian Criminal Procedure Code contains a special provision for the release of women under trials on bail. Notably, despite of this special provision, women under trials account for 72 percent of the total female prison population of the country. The exceeding number of women under trials invites social, legal and human concern. It is with this backdrop that this paper aims to probe empirically the functioning of the mechanism of bail in the case of women under trial prisoners. It is based on the study conducted on women under trial prisoners of Aligarh District, Uttar Pradesh (India). The study finds that due to higher level of illiteracy, ignorance, economic dependency, lower and subordinate position in the family and society and other social facts, women under trial prisoners, despite the special provision, languish in prison for an uncertain period of time which leads to serious consequences.