MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, on Friday, directed the Member Secretary of Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority (TNSLSA) to take steps to identify convicted prisoners who are in need of legal aid.
A Bench comprising Justices V Bharathidasan and J Nisha Banu directed the Member Secretary, through video conferencing, to instruct the secretaries of district legal services authorities to visit all central prisons, open prisons and special prisons for women and collect particulars of prisoners who require legal aid. A report should be filed by the next hearing on October 8, they added.
The judges also acknowledged the preliminary report filed by the member secretary which stated that steps are already being taken to help convicts in filing appeal. Five paralegal volunteers have been appointed in central prisons to assist the convict prisoners, the judges noted. Other deficiencies such as lack of facilities for advocates who visit prisons, which were highlighted by some advocates during the hearing, would also be addressed, the judges added.
The Bench gave the direction while hearing an appeal filed in 2018 by a life convict, S Pathipoornam from Palayamkottai Central Prison. Pathipoornam was convicted in November 1996 for sexually assaulting and murdering a woman. He has been in jail for 25 years and was unable to get legal aid to appeal against his conviction till 2018.