Taking an important step, the Delhi High Court has given an order in the interest of the prisoners who are forced to remain in jail for months despite getting bail. The court has ordered all jail superintendents to use the Aadhaar QR code verification application so that prisoners granted bail can be released quickly. This order was given in view of the repeated delays in releasing undertrial prisoners after getting bail.
The High Court has ordered all jail superintendents to use Aadhaar QR code based technology for identification of sureties and verification of their documents.
A division bench of Delhi High Court comprising Justices Pratibha M Singh and Amit Mahajan ordered on May 22, 2026 that to speed up the release of prisoners granted bail, Aadhaar QR code will be mandatory for verification of sureties so that the delay of up to 50 days in the release of prisoners despite getting bail can be removed.
The High Court has ordered that all jail superintendents across Delhi will take these steps. The High Court has admitted that it takes a lot of time to verify the identity and authenticity of the sureties. Therefore, to avoid excessive delays, the court suggested the use of Aadhaar based verification apps.
A data shows that between February 1 and February 15, 2026, the time taken to release prisoners and convicts after bail orders was about 5-6 days.
Delhi High Court, despite granting bail to a prisoner, had to remain in jail for a long time, due to which the court passed these instructions while hearing the suo motu case, because the jail superintendent had not completed all the verification procedures.
