The bench asked the Centre, through the Ministry of Law and Justice and Ministry of Home Affairs, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC), to provide technical assistance, digital infrastructure, software support and training to the states and UTs in this regard.

“The e-Prisons portal shall facilitate time-bound processing through automated alerts and monitoring of statutory or prescribed timelines, ensure transparency and accountability in decision-making, generate periodic compliance reports, and enable effective supervisory oversight by the State Government, the State Legal Services Authority, and other competent authorities, while maintaining appropriate safeguards for the confidentiality and privacy of prisoners’ medical and personal information. The Union of India shall, through the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the NIC under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), provide all necessary technical support, digital infrastructure, software development, maintenance, and capacity building assistance to the States,” the SC judgment said.

The judgement came on a plea by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) seeking the top court’s intervention for the release of terminally ill and elderly prisoners.

The court told the states and UTs that their policies should clearly define the eligibility criteria and the procedural framework governing such releases and to incorporate a uniform and precise definition of what amounts to “terminal illness”.