NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Tuesday asked jail superintendents to identify all undertrial prisoners, including women undertrials, who have undergone incarceration for one-third or half of the maximum punishment prescribed for offences they are accused of and send their cases to concerned courts for grant of bail.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti passed this order and said, “We are looking at the last person who is behind the walls of prisons and whose voice we are not able to hear. We should not miss a single prisoner who is eligible for grant of bail under Section 479 of Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).”
“Jail superintendents must undertake a special drive to identify women undertrial prisoners, some of whom may be lodged with their young children, would be eligible for bail under Section 479,” the bench said.
After hearing amicus curiae Gaurav Agrawal and NALSA counsel Rashmi Nandkumar, who placed statistics about implementation of SC’s earlier orders directing expeditious release of undertrial prisoners, the bench expressed surprise over many undertrials, who are first time offenders, not being granted bail by trial courts.
Section 479 provides: Those undertrial prisoners, not facing charges in heinous offences attracting a maximum punishment of life/death sentence, would be released on bail if they have served one-third of the maximum imprisonment prescribed for the offence (first time offenders) or half of the maximum period of imprisonment (for other accused undertrials). However, it provided that those facing trial in multiple cases cannot avail this liberal bail provision.
SC had also in its earlier orders mandated compliance of Section 479(3), which provided, “The superintendent of jail, where the accused person is detained, on completion of one-half or one-third of the period of incarceration, shall forthwith make an application in writing to the Court to proceed for the release of such person on bail. This is similar to Section 436A of the criminal procedure code.”
As per prison statistics of 2022, out of 5,73,220 prisoners, 4.1% or 23,772 are females, of which 80% are between the age of 18-50 years.
The bench also flagged another issue – an undertrial prisoner may initially be arrested for a heinous offence, but the court may frame charges for a lesser offence, which does not provide for life/death sentence as maximum punishment.
The Justice Roy-led bench said the prison records may not be getting updated after framing of lesser charges by the court and their cases would not be getting recommended for grant of bail on serving of one-third or half of the maximum punishment prescribed for the lesser offence.
It asked jail superintendents to verify such cases and take appropriate steps under Section 479 of BNSS.
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