The Union Home Ministry has asked all states to take steps, including implementation of a specific provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, for providing relief to undertrial prisoners and reduce overcrowding in jails.

Overcrowding in prisons, especially the issue of large number of undertrials, has been a matter of concern for the government, the home ministry said in a communication to states.

It said that for addressing the issue of long detention of undertrial prisoners and their hardship, it has been taking various progressive steps, including grant of financial aid to the states and union territories for providing relief to such prisoners in seeking release from prisons.

The ministry said that Section 479 (1) of the BNSS, which has come into force with effect from July 1, 2024, provides for such relief.

Section 79 says that if an undertrial has undergone detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum imprisonment specified for his offence under the law he shall be released by the court on bail.

However, the relief is not available in the maximum punishment is death sentence or life imprisonment.

A new Proviso has been added under Section 479 (1) of the BNSS, which reads as follows: 'Provided that where such person is a first-time offender (who has never been convicted of any offence in the past) he shall be released on bond by the Court, if he has undergone detention for the period extending up to one-third of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for such offence under that law'.

The Section 479 (3) of the BNSS casts a specific responsibility upon the Superintendent of Prisons, where the accused person is detained, to make an application to the concerned court for release of such prisoners on bail.

The home ministry said the Supreme Court, in its order dated August 23, 2024, in 'Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons' noted that the provisions of Section 479 of BNSS shall apply to all undertrials in pending cases irrespective of whether the case was registered against them before July 1, 2024, the date when the new law came into effect.

The Court has directed the Superintendents of Jails across the country that wherever accused persons are detained as undertrials, their applications may be preferred to the concerned courts, upon completion of one-half or one-third of the period mentioned in sub section (1) of Section 479, for their release on bail.

"All states and UTs are requested to take note of the specific legal mandate cast on the Superintendent of Prisons under their jurisdiction and disseminate this information to all relevant ranks, particularly the Superintendent of Prisons, and monitor the effective implementation of the new provisions of BNSS, as cited above," the communication said.

For assisting the state and UT prison authorities in quick identification of eligible prisoners, the ministry has made appropriate provisions in the national E-Prisons portal, enlisting types of offences that prisoners have been charged with, the maximum sentence for the offence committed, the date of completion of one-half or one-third of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for an offence under the relevant law by a prisoner, etc.

"The E-prisons portal has thus enabled the state Jail authorities to access the data of inmates in a quick and easy manner for identifying eligible inmates whose application needs to be moved to the court for their release on bail," the home ministry said.

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