On August 12, 2025,

The Supreme Court issued a crucial directive to the Home Secretaries of all States and Union Territories, instructing them to conduct a thorough verification to determine whether any prisoner continues to be held in jail beyond the completion of their legally prescribed sentence.

The Court emphasized that if any such prisoners are found to be unlawfully detained after serving their sentence period, they must be immediately released, provided they are not subject to custody for any other pending cases or legal reasons.

This directive was issued by a Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice K.V. Viswanathan while granting release to an accused who had completed their full sentence term without remission but was still detained.

Further, the Court ordered that this instruction be forwarded to the Member Secretary of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). NALSA is to ensure that the directive is communicated to the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) across the country for effective monitoring and implementation at the grassroots level.