Supreme Court Enforces Retrospective Application of BNSS Section 479 to Address Prison Overcrowding

The Supreme Court has mandated that BNSS-2023's section 479, which limits the maximum detention period for undertrial prisoners, be applied retrospectively across India. This measure replaces section 436A of the CrPC and aims to alleviate prison overcrowding by expediting the processing of undertrial detainees' applications.

The Supreme Court announced on Friday that section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita-2023 (BNSS), addressing the 'maximum period for which an undertrial prisoner can be detained,' will be applied retrospectively to all undertrials nationwide.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, informed justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta that section 479 of the BNSS, which supersedes section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, will be effective for all undertrials, irrespective of whether the crime was registered before July 1, 2024.

Effective July 1, the BNSS, along with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, replaced the British-era Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Penal Code, and Indian Evidence Act. The Supreme Court directed jail superintendents to process undertrial applications promptly upon the completion of one-third of the period stipulated in the provision, with a preference to complete the process within three months. Senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal, amicus curiae in the case, emphasized the urgent implementation of section 479 to tackle prison overcrowding, a concern the court has been addressing since October 2021.