Principal and Sessions Court Judge and chairperson of District Legal Services Authority Indrakala B S said  that no man was born as a criminal but situations force him to become a criminal.

She was speaking after inaugurating a legal awareness and cultural programme for prisoners on Kannada Rajyotsava Day at the district prison here.

The programme was jointly organised by District Legal Services Authority, District Bar Association, SCAB Law College and District Prison.

She advised prisoners to adopt Basavanna's vachana “Kalabeda, Kolabeda, Husiyanudibeda” and added that they could be good humans if they followed the vachana. The main intention of imposing authority on prisoners was to make them better humans.

Prisons in England had all facilities because it was believed that people become criminals when they  did not have an idea of what good life was, she said.

Principal Civil Judge (Senior Division) and member secretary of District Legal Services Authority V S Dharwadkar said that the District Legal Services Authority was organising many programmes to bring about legal awareness among the common people.

Free legal aid would be given to SC/ST and Minorities, ladies, children, and those who had an annual income below Rs 50,000.

Through counselling some cases were solved. The complaint box could also be used to find solutions to problems, he added.

District  Bar Association President N Bhanuraj informed about the problems of prisoners and called upon to solve the same. Students of Maddipet school presented cultural programmes. SCAB Law College students spoke about dowry, adoption, rights of a person in prison, and other topics.

Superintendent of District Prison P Krishna Nayak said that efforts were on to improve the condition of prisoners and more facilities were being given to them.