Andhra prisoner has a story to tell; govt says he has no right to write

Hyderabad: Does a convict in a criminal case have the right to write a book? If the answer is no, then why? Here’s a story unfolding in Andhra Pradesh that needs a debate.

Sathuluri Chalapathi Rao, who is serving a life imprisonment in Visakhapatnam Central Prison, has a manuscript - titled For a crime-free society - narrating the events of his life ready but he won’t be allowed to get it published. The government’s argument is rather bland: he is not a political prisoner, hence he has no right to express himself in a book.

Chalapathi Rao and his accomplice Gantela Vijayavardhana Rao, both belonging to Guntur, set ablaze a bus in the early morning of 8 March 1993, killing 23 people. The trial was completed within a couple of years and the duo was awarded capital punishment on 7 September 1995 by the II Additional District & Sessions Judge of Guntur. It was confirmed by the then Andhra Pradesh High Court. The protracted legal battle by Human Rights activists on their behalf in the Supreme Court too did not help as the apex court upheld the decision of the lower courts. However, on 20 May 1998, the duo was granted clemency by President KR Narayanan following an unrelenting fight by human rights leader the late B Chandrasekhar, who passed away a couple of years ago.

The most touching part of the magnum opus of the prisoner, who is not a professional writer, is that he saw a new ray of hope when he was granted clemency by the President of India. He was out on parole and married during that period. Later, when he was out of the prison on a parole, he had a family life and now he has a grown up child.

His book also recounts tales from various phases of his own life – the abject poverty he grew up in, his initiation into crime, the execution of a ghastly crime unintentionally, and an existence away from human affection, love and care. Away from normal life for over two decades was pernicious enough - “Hell would have been much better than a cell” – he says. He writes that the clemency rekindled a hope of life that was nearly extinguished by the death penalty.

“He appealed to the Andhra Pradesh government seeking permission to have it published. The prison authorities too were courteous. They forwarded his appeal to the Law department, which declined permission, and stated that only political prisoners could be allowed to author books, but not the criminals who were convicted of other charges. The Law department sought to know to how the department of Prisons and Correctional Institutions allowed the authoring of a book by Chalapati Rao.

However, senior advocate in the High Court of Hyderabad L Ravichander told Firstpost that it was not for the government to take a decision on whether or not to permit Chalapati Rao to write a book. It is for the judiciary to examine and pronounce a decision.

The question of the right of the prisoner to communicate is based in the Jail Manual. The manual provides that a prior permission of a magistrate is required for a prisoner to express his views, be it an under-trial or a convict. The procedure calls for the prisoner to file an application before a competent court. The court passes a judicial order whether he has the right.

“Obviously, the court will consider the question of his right. I do not know why the file went to government. The other aspect is that the government rejected it on the ground that he could not write a book because of the nature of his offence. This cannot be yardstick. There is no reasoning or constitutional basis to the claim that only a person convicted of a political offence enjoys such a right. This must be an unacceptable classification and therefore hostile discrimination. It will not pass judicial scrutiny,” said Ravichander.

Revolutionary writer Varavara Rao, who met Chalapathi Rao in the prison a few days ago, threw light on the content of the book. He told Firstpost that Chalapati expressed his remorse in the book. He made no bones about it. He did not plead guilty nor did he say he was implicated. Varavara Rao said that the right to publish a book while in prison was generally not permitted. “In my case, the Editor of the Indian Express approached the court and secured permission,” he said, recalling how he had authored a book while in prison.

Rights activist G Haragopal, who famously officiated as an interlocutor in the release of kidnapped IAS officers a couple of times, told Firstpost: “Chalapati Rao’s internal struggle emerging in the form of a book would surely provide insight to the society. Those who have drifted away from normal society have a right to express themselves. There is no risk involved if the permission is denied. This gives an easy way out for authorities to say no to the request of Chalapati.”