Supreme Court Directs States/UTs to Furnish Data on Prison Staff Vacancies

The Supreme Court directed all States/UTs to provide jail staff details, including cadre strength, vacancies, and recruitment efforts, within 8 weeks. Highlighting understaffing in overcrowded prisons, it referenced the 2018 data showing 24,588 vacancies out of 77,230 posts.

The Court emphasized its earlier order on ensuring prisoners' rights under Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), applied retrospectively to release undertrials exceeding detention limits.

State Legal Services Authorities must assist undertrials with pending bail orders, and Undertrial Review Committees were tasked to expedite reviews. The move aligns with rulings like Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979).