The Supreme Court on Wednesday said legislatures can ponder over utility of house arrest in post-conviction cases as a measure for problem of overcrowding in prisons. In a 206-page judgement, a bench comprising Justices U.U. Lalit and K.M. Joseph said: "We observe that under Section 167 (of the CrPC) in appropriate cases, it will be open to courts to order house arrest. As to its employment, without being exhaustive, we may indicate criteria like age, health condition and the antecedents of the accused, the nature of the crime, the need for other forms of custody and the ability to enforce the terms of the house arrest."

The bench held that a period of transit remand, wherein an accused is produced before a jurisdictional court, has to be taken into account for computing the period of custody for the purpose of filing the charge sheet. The bench added as regards post-conviction cases, it would leave it open to the legislature to ponder over its employment. "We have indicated the problems of overcrowding in prisons and the cost to the state in maintaining prisons," it said. The bench noted that house arrests have been resorted to in India, in the context of law relating to preventive detention. "What is however relevant is that preventive detention is also a form of forced detention. House arrest is also custody and forced detention," it said.