Police & notices › Family member in jail
A prisoner died in jail and we were not told the reason
What usually matters in this situation, and the papers to keep ready before you meet an advocate or free legal aid (call 15100).
Your situation
- What do you need? They died in police or jail custody
Where you stand
- In your favour Any prisoner can get a free lawyer through the District Legal Services Authority — call 15100.
Papers to gather
- FIR number, police station, sections charged and the court name
Every application starts from these. Where: Police station, the family’s copy, or the eCourts website. - Date of arrest and the custody (remand) orders
Time served decides bail under section 479. Where: Court order sheets; jail office. - Prisoner number, jail name and ward
Needed for meetings, legal aid and applications. Where: Jail office. - Medical records, photos and names of fellow prisoners or staff who saw it
Proves custodial violence or denial of treatment. Where: Jail hospital; family visits. - Post-mortem report and a request that it be videographed, plus the Judicial Magistrate’s inquiry number
A judicial inquiry is mandatory for any death in custody. Where: Hospital; the Magistrate’s court.
What the law says
Under section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), an undertrial who has been detained for half the maximum sentence for the offence must be released on bail, and a first-time offender after one-third — this does not apply to offences punishable with death or life imprisonment, and the jail superintendent must apply to the court. Every district has an Undertrial Review Committee and legal aid clinics in jails run by the District Legal Services Authority; any prisoner is entitled to a free lawyer. Meetings (mulakat), parole and furlough are governed by each state’s prison rules. When a person dies, disappears or a woman alleges rape in police or judicial custody, an inquiry by a Judicial Magistrate is mandatory in addition to the police investigation (BNSS s.196(2)); the National Human Rights Commission is to be informed within 24 hours. Courts award compensation for custodial deaths and torture under Article 21.
General information, not legal advice.
Saboot will also ask
- Has the person been convicted?
Similar situations
- My son has been in jail for years and the trial has not started
- An undertrial has served half the maximum sentence
- My husband in jail has no lawyer
- The jail is not letting us meet my family member
- Need parole for a wedding or funeral in the family
- My brother is sick in jail and not being treated
- My father was beaten in jail
- My son died in police custody
Sources
The full guide: A family member is in jail — bail, long detention as an undertrial, meeting them, parole, or death in custody · All situations