JUDGMENT :

Sandeep Mehta, J.

For clarity of exposition and to facilitate structured consideration of the issues arising in the present matter, this judgment has been organised under the following heads: -

1. Heard.

2. The manner in which a constitutional democracy treats those who find themselves in positions of heightened vulnerability within its institutional framework is often the clearest reflection of its commitment to the rule of law and human dignity. Prisons, though instruments of lawful confinement, are not spaces where constitutional values are suspended. The guarantees of dignity, fairness and humane treatment continue to operate with full force even behind prison walls, where the power of the State is exercised in its most intrusive form and the vulnerability of individuals is at its highest.

I. INTRODUCTION

3. The instant writ petition has been instituted by National Legal Services Authority¹[Hereinafter, being referred to as “NALSA”.], under Article 32 of the Constitution of India raising grave and systemic concerns regarding the continued incarceration of convicted prisoners who are of advanced age (above 70 years) or are terminally ill. The petition highlights that despite their severely deteriorating health conditions and the manifest inadequacy of medical and caregiving facilities within prisons, such prisoners continue to remain confined, resulting in prolonged physical suffering and erosion of human dignity. It is contended that this state of affairs amounts to a direct infringement of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

4. NALSA, in furtherance of its statutory mandate under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to lay down policies and frame mechanisms for making legal services easily accessible to the weaker sections of society, conducted a nationwide Special Campaign for Old Prisoners & Terminally Ill Prisoners between 10th December, 2024 and 10th March, 2025. Through this structured and comprehensive exercise, NALSA identified a distinct class of prisoners whose continued incarceration, despite advanced age or terminal illness, warrants immediate constitutional scrutiny, as their condition renders them particularly vulnerable to neglect, suffering and deprivation of dignity within the prison system. In the backdrop of the aforesaid exercise, and in discharge of its constitutional and statutory responsibilities, NALSA has, by way of the present writ petition, inter alia, sought directions for grant of bail and release of such identified prisoners, subject to the satisfaction of the respective learned trial Courts, so as to ensure that punishment does not degenerate into cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and that the right to live with dignity is preserved even within the prison system. For the sake of ready reference, the reliefs sought in the writ petition are reproduced hereinbelow: -

“a. To grant bail to persons identified by the Petitioner under the Special Campaign for Old Prisoners & Terminally Ill Prisoners subject to the satisfaction of the respective Ld. Trial Courts; And/or

b. Pass any other order or relief in favour of the Petitioner in the interest of Justice, equity, and good conscience.”

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND MATERIAL PLACED BEFORE THIS COURT

5. The present proceedings bring to the fore a distinct yet interlinked facet of the broader constitutional concern relating to humane conditions of incarceration, namely, the continued confinement of elderly and terminally ill prisoners within the prison system. The factual foundation of this issue is grounded in empirical data placed on record by NALSA, drawing substantially from officia