New Delhi, May 27 (IANS): The Delhi High Court has directed the sensitisation of all trial court judges in the national capital to ensure judgments on conviction are pronounced only when they are ready and that a copy is immediately provided to the convicted accused taken into custody.

Justice Navin Chawla issued the directive, asking the Principal District and Sessions Judges of all district courts in Delhi to circulate this order to presiding judicial officers.

"The learned Principal District and Sessions Judges of all the District Courts in Delhi are requested to sensitise the presiding judicial officers to pronounce their judgments on conviction only when they are ready for pronouncement and, in cases where they are convicting the accused and taking the accused into custody, immediately supply a copy thereof, free of cost, to the accused for the accused to avail of the remedies available to them in accordance with law," the order said.

This decision arose from a plea by two men who were taken into custody without being provided with the order convicting them. The court noted that the judgment on conviction was not even ready when the men were taken into custody.

Justice Chawla pointed out that if the judgment was ready, there was no reason for the trial court to delay supplying a copy to the accused.

The court noted the importance of providing the judgment copy to the accused or their pleader, enabling them to immediately seek remedies, such as filing an appeal.

Justice Chawla stressed that the accused must know the reasons for their conviction and the legal grounds for their custody, as it pertains to their statutory and constitutional rights.

The court criticised the trial court's failure to make the judgment available at the time of conviction, calling it a denial of the accused's rights. It was informed that the judgment of conviction had since been uploaded and made available to the petitioners. The court disposed of the plea, ensuring that the petitioners retain the right to pursue any legal remedies available to them.