Charanjit Singh, 60, Tihar JailCharge: MurderMaximum punishment: Death, life imprisonmentTime spent as undertrial prisoner: 12 yearsFellow prisoners snigger when Charanjit Singh urinates in his sleep. He doesn't even notice. In fact, he's even forgotten what bathing means. Nothing bothers him, not sunrise, not sunset, not the chirping of birds, not gossiping jail mates. It's been 12 years of forced solitude, ever since October 12, 1985, when Singh was shoved into Asia's largest prison. His alleged crime: murder. Was he a killer? Who knows? We may never.He was certainly an unwilling customer though, neither answering questions nor clarifying his innocence or guilt before the judge. For a year, Singh and a ramshackle trial process struggled with each other. Finally, following a sustained refusal to attend court, he was examined by a medical board. It declared him unstable; and in January 1987, a judge pronounced him unfit for trial. Since then Singh has remained in his cell. The law says since Singh has been declared unfit for trial he shouldn't be in jail.In all these years, nobody has bothered about his medical treatment. The Prisoners Act, 1900, according to which the jail authorities should have released Singh soon after the judge's order, has been ignored.The Social Welfare Department merely says there are no institutions in Delhi where Singh can be rehabilitated. The police made some efforts to trace his family but found it had mysteriously migrated from its Delhi home. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}If Singh had actually been convicted he may have been close to release by now. He would possibly have been sentenced to life imprisonment, a 20-year term. In most cases, the government recommends remission after 14 years. It will not be so for Singh. He is set to stay where he is - ensconced in a legal limbo.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Aug 23, 2012--- ENDS ---
