According to a tentative ruling by Federal judges on Monday, the overcrowded prisons of California may see a 40 percent reduction of its prison population, in order to keep a tab on constitutional breach of the rights of prisoners.

The ruling by a panel of three judges said that the "overcrowding" in the California prison system must be trimmed down by nearly 55,000 inmates over a three-year period, so as to make constitutional level provisions of medical and mental health care.

The court's ruling, which came on the basis of expert authentication, said that the 150,000 inmate population in California prisons can be reduced by undertaking measures like - shortening punishments; redirecting nonviolent felons to county programs; and restructuring parole.

However, the court's argument that overcrowded California prisons are unsafe has not gone undisputed. The officials of the state, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, instantaneously pledged that, if need be, they would appeal to the US Supreme Court.

In the opinion of California's corrections and rehabilitation secretary Matthew Cate, the implementation of the court's ruling would mean the untimely release of nearly 58,000 prisoners, which can be a threat to public safety.

Even the California attorney general, Jerry Brown, said: "This order is a blunt instrument that does not recognize the imperatives of public safety, nor the challenges of incarcerating criminals, many of whom are deeply disturbed!"