MADURAI: A team headed by the Member Secretary of Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority (TNSLSA) K Rajasekar inspected the Madurai Central Prison and received petitions from the convict prisoners on Tuesday. The inspection carried out was based on the directions issued by the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court to TNSLSA to identify convicts without legal assistance.
The team, consisting of Permanent Lok Adalat Chairman AKK Rajini and District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) secretary V Deepa, visited the prison on Tuesday morning and interacted with each convict personally and provided awareness about their right to free legal assistance in filing appeals.
Steps were also taken to recommend the names of prisoners jailed for more than 14 years to the Advisory Board. DLSA secretary Deepa told TNIE the petitions would be examined under the supervision of Principal District Judge P Vadamalai and then would be forwarded to the appellate courts.
“Every court has its legal services committee with the senior-most judge as its chairman. These petitions would be forwarded to the respective appellate courts, and the latter will appoint counsels for the prisoners from a panel, who would provide legal assistance free of cost,” Deepa explained.