Billionaire Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, on Thursday said that he is taking a voluntary Rs 5 crore cut in his annual salary to provide legal and financial assistance to underprivileged undertrials.
"Just because a poor individual cannot afford the services of a lawyer or cannot stump up a small amount for bail bond or surety, he or she should not be denied justice," Mr Mittal said.
Mr Mittal said the idea of launching the legal aid service came to him during his visits to Patiala House Court in New Delhi for the 2G case. "Most undertrials suffer in jails simply because of their ignorance of the law and their rights to liberty, their inability to pay the meagre amounts required for bails and bonds and lack of persons to stand surety," he said.
Mr Mittal's flagship company - Bharti Airtel - will pitch in with an annual grant of Rs 10 crore towards the cause, the company said. The first grant is expected to kick in from April 1, 2016.
The "Nyaya Bharti" initiative to provide legal assistance and aid and awareness to underprivileged undertrials has been launched under the aegis of Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises.
According to the company's statement, Nyaya Bharti will help the undertrials by paying the bail and surety amounts in very deserving cases. The initiative will be solely focused on district courts where criminal cases are initiated, the company said in a statement.
An estimated 2.80 lakh undertrials are lodged in nearly 1,387 jails in the country; they constitute nearly 68 per cent of the total prisoner population, said Bharti Enterprises.
58-year-old Mr Mittal is the promoter of Bharti Airtel, India's biggest mobile carrier. He is India's 13th richest person with a net worth of $6.2 billion, according to Forbes 2015 list.
