MHA asks states to enact bail policies for inmates awaiting trial
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New Delhi: Official stated on Friday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked that states and Union Territories enact Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which permits bail to inmates who have served significant periods of detention, in an effort to alleviate jail overcrowding and provide relief to undertrial prisoners.
The MHA put emphasis on the necessity for prison officials to request bail on behalf of eligible detainees in its advisory. In order to determine which jail inmates are eligible for release, it also mandated that the national e-Prisons site be used, the New Indian Express reported.
According to Section 479 of the BNSS, the court must grant bail to an undertrial who has been detained for a duration equal to or greater than half of the maximum sentence stipulated for the offence. But if the maximum punishment is a life sentence or the death penalty, there is no relief.
A new proviso under Section 479 (1) reads, “Provided that where such person is a first-time offender, 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.”
The superintendents of the prisons where the accused are being held are required by Section 479(3) to apply to the court for the accused's release on bail. The government has also urged jail officials to make efficient use of their resources by reminding them of the financial assistance program designed to help underprivileged inmates.
“In the backdrop of the concerns raised about condition of prisons across the country, the advisory was issued to chief secretaries and heads of prison authorities,” an official said, adding, “It is also clarified that the Section 479 of BNSS provides for release of such prisoners, who have been detained for up to half the maximum imprisonment period, which is further reduced to one-third for first-time offenders.”
According to Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, if an undertrial has been detained for half of the maximum incarceration period provided for his offence, he shall be freed by the court on bail. If the undertrial is a first-time offender, he will be freed on bail after serving one-third of the maximum duration.