New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to identify undertrial prisoners who remain in jail even after receiving bail and to take steps to ensure their release. On November 4, a bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale asked the state to identify such prisoners in consultation with the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs).The court has also requested the concerned courts to consider cases brought to their notice by the DLSAs and modify bail conditions where necessary to facilitate the prisoners’ release.The court had been hearing a suo motu petition on bail reforms, related to its January 31, 2023, judgment, which directed all states and Union territories to establish a permanent mechanism for the speedy release of undertrials after they are granted bail.UP-based lawyer Syed Mohammad Haider Rizvi, who filed the application, alleged that the state had not complied with the 2023 order, citing information obtained under the Right to Information Act, reported Hindustan Times.In response, the state’s government submitted that 264 undertrial prisoners across 20 district jails had obtained bail as of September 29, 2026, of which, 158 had been released. Meanwhile, the cases of 106 individuals remained pending with the DLSA. Meerut accounted for the highest number of prisoners awaiting release at 60, followed by Moradabad at 15.Rizvi further pointed out that even though the state had 75 districts, the government had presented figures for only 20. Advocate Talha Abdul Rahman, his counsel, argued that the actual number may be much higher than 236 and that the extent of compliance could be determined only after data from the remaining 55 districts was provided.Following this, the court ordered the UP government to furnish the unsupplied data, as well as to ensure that prisoners who had obtained bail were released.“This direction shall be applicable even to those under-trial prisoners who could not comply with the bail conditions…despite the fact that they have the assistance of DLSA and those who have engaged private counsel,” the court added.UP has the highest number of undertrial prisoners in the whole country, with 73,491 out of a national total of 3,89,910 (close to 4 lakh), according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.