Premature Release: Supreme Court Directs States to Frame Policy for Elderly, Terminally Ill Prisoners

In a landmark push for compassionate justice, the Supreme Court has directed all States and Union Territories to formulate and notify, within three months, a comprehensive policy for the premature release of elderly and terminally ill prisoners.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the directions are intended to give meaningful effect to the constitutional guarantee of life with dignity and to ensure that the criminal justice system does not inflict needless suffering on those whose vulnerability is evident and irreversible.

"This court reiterates that punishment must remain anchored in proportionality, humanity and the possibility of reform, and that incarceration cannot be permitted to degenerate into institutional neglect incompatible with the values of a constitutional democracy," the Bench said.

The directions were issued while deciding a public interest litigation filed by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

Why did the Supreme Court issue directions on premature release of prisoners?

Court said prisons, though instruments of lawful confinement, are not spaces where constitutional values are suspended.

"The guarantees of dignity, fairness and humane treatment continue to operate with full force even behind prison walls, where the power of the State is exercised in its most intrusive form and the vulnerability of individuals is at its highest," the Bench observed.

It stressed that the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution does not come to an end upon conviction.

The petition had highlighted the growing number of prisoners above 70 years of age who continue to remain in jail despite suffering from serious medical conditions and inadequate healthcare facilities.

According to the Court, continued incarceration of such prisoners violates their fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and is also contrary to internationally recognised human rights standards.

Technology-driven process for premature release

To ensure transparency and efficiency, the bench directed that all applications seeking compassionate or premature release must be processed through the e-Prisons portal.

Every stage of the process, including filing of the application, medical examination, reports of prison authorities, recommendations of the Medical Board and the Undertrial Review Committee, and the final decision with recorded reasons, must be digitally documented.

The portal will also generate automatic alerts for time-bound processing, monitor deadlines and produce compliance reports for oversight by State Governments and State Legal Services Authorities, while ensuring protection of prisoners' medical and personal data.

The Union Government, through the Ministries of Law and Justice and Home Affairs, along with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), has been directed to provide technical assistance, digital infrastructure, software support and training to all States and Union Territories.

The NIC has also been asked to upgrade and maintain the e-Prisons portal to enable uniform, nationwide tracking and monitoring of such applications.

Court further directed the Centre and all States and Union Territories to file compliance affidavits within six months, detailing the steps taken to frame the policy, the number of prisoners identified for release and the cases under consideration.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 19, 2027, to review the implementation of the directions.

Court refers to existing policy framework

The Bench noted that, according to the Prison Statistics India Report, 2022 published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 1,33,415 convicted prisoners in India as on December 31, 2022. Of these, 27,690 convicts, or about 20.8%, were aged 50 years and above.

It also pointed out that as early as 2010, following directions issued by the Delhi High Court in a 2009 suo motu case, the Union Government had issued a comprehensive advisory to all States and Union Territories laying down a policy framework for the treatment of terminally ill prisoners.

The advisory recommended the constitution of district-level and state-level medical boards to certify cases of terminal illness within prescribed timelines. It also urged States and Union Territories to explore all available legal avenues, including general amnesty and petitions for clemency under Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution.

"The existence of such a detailed and compassionate policy framework for over a decade reflects a clear and conscious executive acknowledgment that continued incarceration of terminally ill prisoners is not merely an administrative issue, but one that squarely engages the core constitutional values of dignity, proportionality and humane treatment embedded within Article 21 of the Constitution," the Bench said.

Court further observed that where legislative or executive inaction results in persistent or systemic violations of fundamental rights, it cannot remain a passive spectator.

"In such circumstances, constitutional adjudication cannot retreat into silence, and this court is duty-bound to issue appropriate directions to ensure that existing constitutional and statutory frameworks are effectively implemented and that the guarantees under Article 21 of the Constitution of India do not remain merely formal or illusory," the Bench said.

Case Title: National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India & Ors.

Bench: Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta

Date of Judgment: July 16, 2026