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13. Additionally, it is also pertinent to peruse Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 which came into effect from June 2006. Section 436A reads as:

"Where a person has, during the period of investigation, inquiry or trial under this Code of an offence under any law (not being an offence for which the punishment of death has been specified as one of the punishments under that law) undergone detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence under that law, he shall be released by the Court on his personal bond with or without sureties;

14. Section 436A was upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Bhim Singh v. UOI2, "5. Having given our thoughtful consideration to the legislative policy engrafted in Section 436A and large number of under-trial prisoners housed in the prisons, we are of the considered view that some order deserves to be passed by us so that the under- trial prisoners do not continue to be detained in prison beyond the maximum period provided under section 436A.

6. We, accordingly, direct that jurisdictional Magistrate/Chief Judicial Magistrate/Sessions Judge (2015) 13 SCC 605 // 8 // shall hold one sitting in a week in each jail/prison for two months commencing from 1st October, 2014 for the purposes of effective implementation of 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In its sittings in jail, the above judicial officers shall identify the under-trial prisoners who have completed half period of the maximum period or maximum period of imprisonment provided for the said offence under the law and after complying with the procedure prescribed Under Section 436A pass an appropriate order in jail itself for release of such under-trial prisoners who fulfill the requirement of Section 436A for their release immediately. Such jurisdictional Magistrate/Chief Judicial Magistrate/ Sessions Judge shall submit the report of each of such sitting to the Registrar General of the High Court and at the end of two months, the Registrar General of each High Court shall submit the report to the Secretary General of this Court without any delay. ..."

(2011) 1 SCC 784 // 19 // In the case of Bhim Singh v. Union of India (supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court passed directions for the immediate implementation of Section 436A of Cr.P.C. to ensure that undertrial prisoners do not continue to be detained in prison beyond the maximum period provided under the said section of CrPC. The Court also iterated the necessity for an effective implementation of Section 436A and fast tracking of the criminal justice system is necessary. This is to ensure that no undertrial prisoners shall remain in prison beyond half of the maximum sentence prescribed for that offence.