Mon Nov 25 07:13:54 UTC 2024: ## Supreme Court Emphasizes Release of Under Trial Prisoners, Criticizes Uttar Pradesh’s Delay
**New Delhi:** The Supreme Court on Tuesday reiterated the urgency of implementing provisions for the release of undertrial prisoners, asserting that justice must reach even the “last person” unheard and unseen within the system. A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti stressed that ensuring the release of all eligible undertrials is crucial to alleviate inhumane conditions and overcrowding in jails.
The court’s remarks came during a review of Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which allows the release of first-time offenders who have served one-third of their maximum sentence without prior conviction. This is broader than the corresponding provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which required serving half the maximum sentence. The BNS provision applies to non-heinous offences not punishable by death or life imprisonment. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered its retroactive application to cases registered before the BNS’s July 1, 2024 implementation.
The court expressed concern over the slow pace of identification and release, emphasizing that eligible prisoners should not remain behind bars due to systemic delays. Uttar Pradesh received a rebuke for failing to submit compliance reports, a lapse the state attributed to a misunderstanding. The court dismissed this as a “lame excuse,” questioning why the state, with its high number of jails and undertrials, wasn’t utilizing the beneficial law to decongest its prisons.
The court also supported the creation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for identifying and releasing undertrials, urging state authorities to collaborate with State Legal Services Authorities to streamline the process. The court highlighted the importance of this oversight given that undertrials constitute over 75% of India’s prison population, exceeding 4.34 lakh out of 5.73 lakh prisoners as of December 31, 2022 (NCRB data). The court emphasized that even if 500 or 5000 prisoners are released, the focus remains on ensuring that not a single eligible individual remains incarcerated. Senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal is acting as an amicus curiae, assisting in data collection and highlighting implementation gaps. The court directed district and state legal services authorities to actively involve panel advocates and paralegal volunteers to maintain updated information on undertrials.
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