Hussainara Khatoon vs State of Bihar Summary

Hussainara Khatoon vs State of Bihar Summary

Hussainara Khatoon & Ors vs. the State of Bihar is one of the most important cases with regards to the ‘Rights of Prisoners in India. In 1977, the National Police Commission was set up by the Government of India. R.F Rustomjee, one of the members of the commission, studied a report related to a matter of the commission, for which he visited the jails in Bihar. While visiting the jails, he perceived that in the Muzaffarpur and Patna jails there were many undertrial prisoners whose trials had not even started. The prisoners with minor offenses were also captive in the jail for a term longer than the maximum punishable imprisonment period. Later in January 1979, he published the same report in the Indian Express newspaper in two parts.

Kapila Hingorani, an advocate of the Supreme Court, read the report in the Indian Express and decided to take some measures on the prisoners’ situation. She filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court for the voiceless and underprivileged prisoners who were kept in jail for a prolonged period of time. This was the first time the Court allowed such a case to move forward without any personal locus standi on the part of Mrs. Hingorani, making Public Interest Litigations a permanent fixture in Indian Jurisprudence. Ever since PILs had become the champion of the underprivileged and those wronged by the system. Thus, Kapila Hingorani is also regarded as the “Mother of Public Interest Litigation”.

Article 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950 Article 21 states that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedures established by law“. The protection of our liberty is the responsibility of our law as quoted by our Constitution. The Supreme Court and the High Courts are the guardians of the Constitution and therefore it is their responsibility to protect and guarantee fundamental rights to its citizens. These rights guaranteed under Article 21 have been held to be the heart of the Constitution, the most organic and progressive provision in our living constitution, the foundation of our laws.

Hussainara Khatoon vs State of Bihar Citation Supreme Court of India Hussainara Khatoon & Ors vs Home Secretary, State Of Bihar, on 9 March 1979 Equivalent citations: 1979 AIR 1369, 1979 SCR (3) 532 Author: P Bhagwati Bench: Bhagwati, P.N. Constitution of India 1950-Arts.

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