The new precedence that the court has set—and will be used as a reference in several other cases that might come before the Supreme Court of India—has ignited hopes among the prisoners languishing in jails across the country who have spent more than 26 years. They might have been looking for a ray of light which now seems to have emerged out of the apex court.
There might be several such examples across the country of people who have spent more than 26 years of their life in jails, but one such bright and known example which is in front of us is that of Qasim Faktoo case in which judiciary need to interfere. The man might have been involved and convicted in several terror cases, but the importance of the same cannot be more than that of a case related to the former PM’s assassination. As we speak, the man who has acquired most of his education inside the prisons has completed more than 29 years of his life confined to one place and same seems to be enough for the SC to do complete justice in the matter as has been done in Perarivalan’s case. The man who now walks free has spent nearly 32 years in jail while Qasim is just a few years short of the same.
While the historic decision of the Supreme Court is going to have great implications on the ground—as it will reignite the lost hopes among almost lost, forgotten people in the jails—it is also expected of the judicial system to come up to expectations and full the hopes of those people who might in days to come, file such petitions, seeking release after completing more than 26 years of their life, confined to prisons in cases of varied nature. Once that is done, it will also ensure speedy trials and with time might push the system to do away with keeping the cases pending, without any action, for decades together.
