Onus on Uttar Pradesh to ensure undertrials allowed bail are released, says Supreme Court
Of the 264 undertrial prisoners allowed bail, 106 had to continue behind bars for various reasons, including their inability to provide financial security or a guarantor to back them
The Supreme Court has emphasized that the responsibility of ensuring the release of undertrial prisoners who have been granted bail lies with the Uttar Pradesh government. This ruling was passed by a Bench led by Justice M.M. Sundresh after learning that out of 264 undertrial prisoners allowed bail in just 20 of the 75 districts in the populous state, only 158 were released after meeting the bail conditions set by trial courts.
The remaining 106 were kept in jail due to various reasons, including their inability to provide financial security or a guarantor to fulfill the bail conditions.
Legal aid for undertrials can reduce their pre-trial detention time, but it often arrives late. Senior advocate Gaurav Aggarwal, appointed by the court as the amicus curiae, noted that this issue was evident in only 20 districts of Uttar Pradesh, with the statistics for the other 55 districts still unknown. Uttar Pradesh's counsel assured the court that the necessary actions would be taken within a reasonable timeframe.
The court emphasized that even if undertrials have private lawyers, the District Legal Services Authority must still assist them in complying with bail conditions. The court reasoned that denying assistance to undertrial prisoners with private lawyers would be unjust. Both categories of undertrial prisoners face the same hurdle of being denied freedom despite being found suitable for release by the court due to their inability to meet financial conditions imposed by trial courts.
The Supreme Court's decision affects over 70% of India's prisoners, who have not yet been found guilty. Justice Vikram Nath highlighted that out of the 74% undertrials, only 7.91% utilized the legal aid available to them, as most of the accused are unaware that they have the right to free legal aid. The court also requested the trial courts in Uttar Pradesh to modify the bail conditions to facilitate the release of undertrial prisoners.
The court's order will apply to all 75 districts of the state, and a suo motu case, 'In re policy strategy for grant of bail', will be heard in January 2027.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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