The Supreme Court of India has accepted a standard operating procedure where the government will pay the bail surety for poor undertrial prisoners who are unable to afford it. This measure aims to ensure that individuals are not incarcerated solely due to their financial inability to meet bail requirements.
Thousands of prisoners in India remain in jail despite being granted bail because they cannot afford the bail amount. To address this, the government, through the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), will disburse funds to cover bail amounts, up to ₹40,000 per prisoner, with the possibility of exceeding this amount on a case-by-case basis. If a convict is unable to secure release from jail due to failure to pay a fine, the prison superintendent will inform the secretary, DLSA, within seven days. The secretary will inquire into the financial condition of the prisoner and the empowered committee will sanction the release of the fine amount up to Rs 25,000.
Under this scheme, the Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) will inquire whether an undertrial is unable to provide financial surety within 10 days of being granted bail. The Secretary will then present these cases to a district-level empowered committee every two to three weeks. This committee will examine the cases and, if deemed appropriate, recommend that the prisoner receive the benefit.
The benefit of state-sponsored bail will not be available for serious offenses, including those under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and offenses related to money laundering and drugs.
If a prisoner is later acquitted or convicted, the trial court will pass appropriate orders to return the money to the government's account. If the bail amount exceeds ₹40,000, the DLSA secretary can exercise discretion to pay the amount and recommend it to the empowered committee and can also engage legal aid advocates to reduce the surety amount. The state-level oversight committee must approve any amount exceeding ₹40,000.
The Supreme Court has also directed jail superintendents to identify undertrial prisoners, including women, who have served one-third or one-half of their potential sentences for the offenses they are accused of. This directive aims to ensure that eligible individuals are considered for bail, as per Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The Supreme Court has emphasized the urgency of releasing eligible undertrial prisoners to address inhumane conditions and overcrowding in jails. The court noted that undertrials account for over 75% of the prison population. According to the Prison Statistics India 2022 report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), out of 5.73 lakh prisoners as of December 31, 2022, more than 4.34 lakh were undertrials.
While the government launched a scheme in 2023 to support poor prisoners unable to pay for bail or surety, its impact has been limited. Between 2023 and July 2025, only 144 prisoners received financial support, with ₹29 lakh spent, indicating implementation challenges.
The Allahabad High Court has also eased bail rules, allowing release on one surety instead of two for those from weaker economic backgrounds. The court instructed magistrates and trial courts to consider an accused's economic and social status before fixing bail amounts.
