With undertrials forming over 70% of India's prison population, assess how effective Section 479 of the BNSS, 2023 has been in reducing pre-trial detention.

Section 479 of the BNSS, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. It limits how long an undertrial can be held: bail after serving half the maximum sentence, and release on bond after one-third for first-time offenders [1]. It has helped, but only modestly. Numbers have fallen, yet most people in Indian jails are still awaiting trial.

Strengths of the provision

• The State must act: Section 479(3) requires the jail Superintendent to apply to the court, so release does not depend on the prisoner having a lawyer [1].
• Applies to older cases: The Supreme Court extended it to undertrials whose cases were registered before 1 July 2024, and it continues to monitor compliance [2].
• Push from the Centre: MHA advisories led to a Samvidhan Divas drive to identify eligible prisoners, and asked States to keep doing this continuously [3][4].

Evidence of impact

• Undertrials fell from 4,34,302 (2022) to 3,89,910 (2023). Prison occupancy fell from 131.4% to 120.8% [5].
• By end-2024 there were 3,65,899 undertrials among 5,04,049 inmates (~72.6%) [6]. That is a drop of only about 3 percentage points in two years.

Limitations

• Thresholds come too late: About 69.3% of undertrials are held for up to one year [5]. Most remand prisoners never reach the one-third or one-half mark.
• Serious offences excluded: Offences punishable by death or life imprisonment are left out [1]. Yet 10,392 undertrials had been held for over five years [5].
• Stretched jail staff: The Theni jailbreak (October 2026), where one warden entered a cell of 17 alone, shows how overstretched jail staff are. These are the same offices Section 479 relies on [7].
• Bail is not release: The Theni escape was linked to a prisoner who had bail but could not find a surety [7]. Funds under the Support to Poor Prisoners Scheme have gone unused in many States [8].
• Federal limits: Prisons are on the State List, so MHA can only advise [4].

Way forward

• Make the 7-day jail-to-DLSA alert in the poor-prisoners SOP compulsory for every bail order that has not led to release [9].
• States should adopt the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023 to make these duties legally binding [10].
• Flag eligible prisoners digitally and speed up trials.

Section 479 has made the State responsible for releasing eligible undertrials, and the numbers have fallen somewhat. But it does little for the many short-term remand prisoners. Combined with surety support, State legislation and faster trials, it can deliver the Article 21 promise of speedy justice and personal liberty, and help meet SDG 16 (access to justice for all).