India to bail long-term prisoners awaiting trial

India's interior minister has vowed to tackle chronic court backlogs by issuing bail to detainees awaiting trial for non-serious crimes who have completed at least a third of their possible sentence.

The world's most populous nation has a notoriously slow justice system, with millions of cases pending in the courts.

At least 134,799 people are in detention awaiting trial, including 11,448 languishing in jail without a sentence for more than five years, according to government statistics from early 2024.

No details were given as to how many detainees the new bail conditions could impact, but Home Minister Amit Shah said bail for eligible prisoners should be made before India's Constitution Day holiday on November 26.

Shah said he was determined India would have a "scientific and speedy" criminal justice system.

"It is our effort that before Constitution Day, there should not be a single prisoner in the country's jails who has served one-third of his sentence and has not yet got justice," Shah said in a speech to police officers on Tuesday, according to the Times of India newspaper.

"If a trial is not going on after a certain period then... the jail officer will have to present the bail process inside the court," he was quoted as saying.

Those accused of serious crimes are ineligible, he added, including detainees held under the tough Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Critics say the law has been used by the government to silence dissent.

Last year, the Supreme Court warned victims may become "disillusioned when the legal process moves at a snail's pace", with some trials taking as long as 65 years.

There has been little investment in digital systems to streamline and organise hearings, while a meagre ratio of judges -- just 21 per million of population in India -- means procedures are notoriously slow.