New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS): The Supreme Court Friday said that the undertrial prisoners who have already spent in jail half of the period of the sentence they would have got if convicted for the offences they are charged with, will now be released.

The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha said that judicial officers of the districts will visit the jails under their jurisdiction once a week to look into such cases and order the release of such undertrial prisoners.

The court said that two months' drive, starting from Oct 1, will see a sessions judge and judicial officers subordinate to him visiting the jails under their jurisdiction to examine such cases and ordering the undertrials' release.

Ordering the next date of hearing of the case Dec 8, the court said that on the completion of the two-month exercise, the registrar generals of the high courts will send the report on the exercise and undertrial prisoners released to the secretary general of the Supreme Court.