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 (f.