# detention of accused person in custody for a total period exceeding

- **Citation:** C.L. No. 77/S.T
- **Court:** Allahabad High Court
- **Decided:** 1981-12-08
- **Case number:** C.L. No. 77/S.T
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/allahabad-high-court/detention-of-accused-person-in-custody-for-a-total-period-exceeding-163503
- **Pages:** 2

## Text

304
courts to pass suitable orders in cases of such under trials who may be in jail for
over six months.
(c)
The following extracts from amended Section 167 Cr.P.C. should be brought to
the notice of all criminal courts for compliance. No Magistrate shall authorize
detention of accused person in custody for a total period exceeding -
(1)
90 days where the investigation relates to an offence punishable with
death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of not less than
ten years;
(2)
60 days where investigation relates to any other offences and on the expiry
of the said period of 90 days or 60 days, as the case may be, the accused
person shall be released on bail, if he is prepared to furnish bail.
(d)
The Court may, in suitable cases where the accused are indigent and unable to
furnish bail, in its discretion, release the accused on personal bond.
C.L. No. 77/S.T. AD(E) dated 8th December, 1981 and
C.L. No. 51/A.D.(E) dated 30th August, 1982

To keep proper control over the disposal of such cases the Presiding Officers
should maintain proper record of under trials involved in the cases in the enclosed
proforma.

At the end of the each quarter a statement in this proforma shall be prepared by
each Court showing the details of only such cases in which the under trial prisoners could
not be released and shall be sent to the Chief Judicial Magistrate in the case of the
Magisterial Courts and to the District & Sessions Judge in the case of the Sessions
Courts. The Chief Judicial Magistrate or the District & Sessions Judge, as the case may
be, shall cause a consolidated statement of all the Courts under him to be prepared latest
by the 8th day of the same month. Thereafter the District & Sessions Judge shall get a
consolidated statement of all the Sessions and Magisterial Courts prepared and sent to the
High Court so as to reach their latest by the 15th day of the said month.

At the time of periodical checkings, the Presiding Officers would look into the
reasons of delay in disposal of such cases where the under trial prisoners are confined in
jail and shall arrange for their quick disposal on priority basis.
(NOTE: The proforma is given under)
RECORD OF CASES IN WHICH UNDERTRIAL PRISONERS ARE CONFINED
IN JAIL
Sl.
No.
Case
No. and
names
of
 parties
Names
of
Under
Trial
prisoners
Section
under
which
charged
Maximum
sentence
(and also the
minimum
sentences, if
prescribed)
which can be
awarded for
the charge
Date
since
when
confined
in jail
Date when he crosses
half of the period of
Maximum
sentence
which can be awarded
and if the Minimum
sentence
is
also
prescribed then the date
when he crosses half of
that period
Date
of
release
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
305

The breakup of the total number of
under trials according to the
number of completed years of
detention
The total number of under trials who
have already spent in jail
Remarks
Note:-
Where the accused
is released on disposal
 of the case, the date
of disposal should
 be noted in this column.
Equal
to
the
period
of
imprisonment,
had
they
been
convicted
Exceeding the
maximum
period
of
imprisonment
had they been
convicted
9
10
11
12
1
yrs
2
yrs
3
yrs
4
yrs
5
yrs
Above
5
years
.
C.L. No. 85/VIIIg-38 Admn. (G) dated 24th December, 1982

The Court has noticed that in petty cases involving short sentences the under
trials are detained in Jail for periods even longer than what they will be required to
undergo as imprisonment in case of their conviction for the offence for which they are
detained.

It has also come to the notice of the Court that in some cases the appeals of the
accused persons who are convicted and awarded short sentences are not disposed of
promptly with the result that the convicted persons serve out the sentences awarded to
them even before their appeals come up for hearing.

In order to avoid the anomalies mentioned above, the following guidelines are
issued for strict compliance in future:-
(i)
After inspection of Jail, the Chief Judicial Magistrate or Additional Chief
Judicial Magistrate, as the case may be, should point out such cases as
described in the first paragraph of this letter to the Magistrates concerned who
may release such under trials on nominal bail or on personal bond.
(ii)
In case of appeals against convictions involving short sentences either such
appeals should be disposed of on priority basis or, if that is not possible due to
pressure of work, the court should invariably pass orders for suspension of
sentence pending appeal and for releasing the accused on bail or on his own
bond.
Even in cases of appeals against conviction, which do not involve short sentence,
if the court is of the view that it may not be possible looking to the pendency of appeals,
to dispose of such appeal before the expiry of period of sentence, the court should follow
the above procedure.
Task force to reduce the under trial prisoners languishing in jail

Letter No. 406/Admin.G-II dated 10.01.2011

I have been directed to say that Statements/reports regarding disposal of cases of
under-trial prisoners received from the District Judges were placed before the Hon'ble
Committee and on the basis of reports received from various districts about the under trial