The Supreme Court has ruled that Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) will be applied retroactively, offering relief to undertrial prisoners and first-time offenders.
Under this section, those who have completed one-third of their maximum possible sentence as undertrials will be eligible for bail.
This decision was made while addressing issues of prison overcrowding. The BNSS, which replaced the outdated Criminal Procedure Code on July 1, 2024, will now apply to all cases registered before this date. However, the provision does not extend to undertrials accused of serious crimes, such as those punishable by death or life sentences.
Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta directed jail superintendents across the country to process bail applications from eligible undertrials within 3 months. “We direct implementation of Section 479 BNSS by calling upon superintendents of jails across the country to process the pleas of the undertrials when they comply with the proviso of this provision,” the Court stated.
The Centre confirmed that the BNSS, along with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, would apply to cases filed before their official implementation on July 1, 2024.
The bench, which previously criticized states for their handling of prison overcrowding, has asked them to file an affidavit detailing the number of undertrials eligible for release and those who have been released under this new provision. The case will be reviewed again in two months.
