Release all undertrials who have completed half their term: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a mammoth two-month-long judicial exercise to clear jails of more than two lakh undertrial prisoners, saying that it cannot wait any longer for the government to act.

Those who have spent half the jail terms had they been convicted stand to benefit from Friday’s order. The order will not cover those accused of murders and terrorist activities that carry death penalty. It will, however, come to the rescue of prisoners facing trial for offences such as rape, molestation, banditry, robbery and criminal intimidation.

“Because of the inability of the government we are suffering. I don’t think we have a ready-made solution. It needs a multi-pronged strategy. The time has come for a concrete resolution,” a bench headed by outgoing Chief Justice RM Lodha said. The order came after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said the law and home ministries were in the process of consulting states on the issue, but urged the court to pass any judicial order facilitating the process.

Justices Kurian Joseph and RF Nariman were the other two judges on the bench that was dealing with a public interest litigation filed by National Panthers Party leader Bhim Singh.

The formal process to release undertrials would commence on October 1, after an identification exercise by local judicial magistrates, the bench said. The magistrates shall send a report of compliance to the registrar generals of the respective high courts, who would in turn report to the Supreme Court secretary general “without delay”. At last count, the number of undertrials was double that of convicts. Releasing these people would relieve states of the burden of taking care of them, Justice Lodha said.