RTI replies from Uttar Pradesh district jails reveal at least 236 people remain imprisoned despite being granted bail. They cannot secure release because they lack sureties, cannot afford surety bonds, or jail administration has not acted on court orders. This exposes a structural gap between the constitutional guarantee of personal liberty under Article 21 and its actual enforcement, where administrative failure and poverty together nullify a court's own order granting freedom.

Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. The Supreme Court has progressively expanded this right far beyond mere physical freedom. In Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), the Court ruled that the procedure must be fair, just, and reasonable — not arbitrary. In Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979), the Court directly addressed undertrial prisoners and held that the right to a speedy trial is implicit in Article 21, ordering release of thousands who had served longer in custody than their potential sentence.

The UP RTI data reveals a distinct but related violation: persons who have already secured bail from a court remain imprisoned because of systemic and economic barriers — inability to furnish sureties or surety bonds. Courts have recognised this as a constitutional problem. In Sanjay Chandra v. CBI (2012), the Supreme Court held that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. The Court has repeatedly directed that personal bonds (without sureties) should be accepted where a surety requirement would de facto deny bail to poor accused.

Section 440 of BNSS 2023 (formerly Section 440 CrPC) and related provisions allow courts to relax surety conditions. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 mandates free legal aid for economically weaker persons, which includes helping secure bail. Continued detention after a bail order is granted, due purely to administrative inaction or poverty, is a direct infringement of Article 21 and also engages Article 14 — the inability to buy freedom creates unconstitutional class discrimination between rich and poor accused.