India, May 6 -- The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and 18 states on releasing prisoners who are terminally ill or over the age of 70 on bail to receive the required care which may not be possible in jails due to overcrowding.

The court took up the plea of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) which found 456 prisoners (including undertrials) who fall under these two categories in jails across the country. Of these, there were 13 terminally ill convicts and 84 elderly convicts who were sentenced by lower courts.

Posting the matter for May 19, the bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed responses to be filed by Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, NCT of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, ...