Delhi high court has passed directions to ensure that undertrials shouldn't languish in Tihar Jail despite getting bail, since they often fail to furnish a bond or surety due to poverty. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar stressed that several Supreme Court verdicts have held that fundamental rights of even a prisoner accused of serious offences cannot be overlooked under any circumstance. HC was pained that despite SC rulings and even the law commission recommending that risk assessments be carried out for undertrial prisoners, who languish in jail as they cannot fulfil bail conditions, many continued to languish. The directions of the court came on a PIL filed by advocate Ajay Verma who contended that hundreds of people were languishing in Tihar Jail despite grant of bail. "We are extremely pained that despite clear law laid down on the subject by the Supreme Court as well as clear statutory provisions and law commission recommendations, 253 undertrial prisoners are still languishing in Tihar Jail despite grant of bail which has necessitated this order," the bench observed. HC also directed the trial courts to be more sensitive and vigilant about such cases and to undertake a review of the reasons as to why an undertrial could not be released on bail. The bench said the trial court can then carry out a risk assessment of the undertrial and modify the bail conditions, if required. It directed the visiting judges of each district court to ensure that a list of undertrials who have been granted bail but could not be released is brought to the notice of the trial judge concerned. The district judges have also been directed to submit a report of the risk assessments carried out by the trial courts apart from verifying the list of 253 undertrials given by Delhi government and to review any other pending cases of prisoners who could not secure release despite grant of bail.