India, July 16 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday directed all states and Union territories to formulate and notify, within three months, a uniform policy for the early release of prisoners who are terminally ill or of advanced age, saying such inmates deserve a humane and time-bound mechanism to secure remission or release on compassionate grounds.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta ordered that every state policy must contain a clear and uniform definition of "terminal illness", prescribe objective eligibility criteria, mandate certification by medical boards and lay down definite timelines and procedures for considering requests for remission or compassionate release.

Pronouncing the judgment, the bench also directed tha...