Rustamji’s reforms

The Supreme Court judgment dated September 6, 2014 about freeing undertrials who have completed half of the maximum sentence brings to mind the contribution of the late Khusro F. Rustamji, one of the most outstanding police officers the country has ever known. He was instrumental in bringing about massive reforms in jails.
Under the instruction of the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rustamji was instrumental in founding the Border Security Force (BSF) in 1965. He was responsible for setting up the National Police Commission and later became its member from 1978 to 1983. In 1978 he visited Ranchi Central Jail and wrote about the pathetic conditions of the undertrials languishing there for long periods without a trial.
Subsequently, two of his articles in The Indian Express formed the basis for the first PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in the case of Hussainara Khatoon and Others vs Home Secretary State of Bihar AIR1979 SC 1369. As a consequence of the judgment in this case, 40,000 undertrials were released all over India. The country’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, was bestowed on Rustamji in 1991 in recognition of his multifarious achievements, including this landmark PIL. The quote from the House of Lords that "illness can be tolerated but not injustice” which talks about bringing about a revolution and stating that the poor need the law more than the rich has relevance in the present scenario.
I hope that the four pillars of democracy do not forget Rustamji’s invaluable contribution in this regard for the poor and the needy. M. K. KHAMBATTA
Jamshedpur
anoo_mehernosh@rediffmail.com