Delhi HC orders jails to use Aadhaar QR code scanning apps for faster release of prisoners who get bail

The Delhi High Court recently ordered all jail superintendents in the national capital to use Aadhaar QR code verification applications to speed up the release of prisoners who get bail. .A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Mahajan passed the order on May 22 after noting repeated delays, sometimes as long as over 50 days, in releasing convicts and undertrials after being granted bail.The Court also noted that a lot of time was spent in verifying the identity and credentials of sureties. A surety is a third party, usually a friend or relative, who guarantees the court that the defendant will appear for all scheduled hearings .Hence, to avoid delays, the Court suggested the use of Aadhaar based verification apps. “Accordingly, henceforth, in order to expedite the verification of sureties and completion of formalities in respect of bail orders, all Jail Superintendents across Delhi shall undertake the following steps: The verification of the sureties and related credentials may be done by scanning of the Secure QR Code on their Aadhaar card through following applications: (a) Aadhaar QR scanner app (b) mAadhaar App (c) Aadhaar App,” the Court ordered. It said that once the details are obtained from these applications, if further verification is required, the same shall also be done in an expeditious manner. “For the purpose of verification of any FD or any other monetary instrument issued by the Bank, the Jail Superintendent shall continue to do it through email and the concerned banks/financial institutions shall respond to the same promptly. If necessary the Jail Superintendents are also free to communicate this order to the Banks whenever they are seeking verification of any FD or monetary instrument for the purpose of verifying the surety,” the Court said. .The Bench passed the directions while hearing a suo motu case initiated after a prisoner, despite being granted bail, remained in custody for more than a week because the jail superintendent had not completed verification formalities. Data submitted before the Court showed that between February 1 and February 15, 2026, the average time taken to release undertrials and convicts after bail orders ranged from five to six days. In some cases, delays extended to 33 or even 56 days due to inter-state verification and checks of financial instruments submitted as sureties.During the hearing, officials from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) informed the court that Aadhaar verification technology is already being used in prisons nationwide for visitor authentication. They also demonstrated mobile applications capable of instantly verifying Aadhaar credentials through QR code scanning.In light of the same, the Court directed UIDAI to file an affidavit explaining how Aadhaar verification measures are being implemented in jails and trial courts nationwide, following directions from multiple High Courts..Senior Advocate Puneet Mittal appeared as amicu curiae in the case assisted by advocate RP Singh. Additional Standing Counsel (Criminal) Amol Sinha along with advocate Kshitiz Garg appeared for the State. Advocate Sushil Raja represented UIDAI..[Read Judgment]