In her letter Ms Jayalalithaa says most of them are poor illiterate tribals who are unable to move even bail pleas.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has written to her Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu seeking legal assistance to facilitate bail to 516 people from Tamil Nadu lodged in various jails in his state over forest-related offences.
In her letter Ms Jayalalithaa says most of them are poor illiterate tribals who are unable to move even bail pleas.
"Although accused of offences under non-bailable sections, they are legally eligible for bail as the chargesheets have not been laid within the statutory 90-day period. Unfortunately, they are still in jail and unable to move their bail application due to penury and lack of appropriate legal assistance," she said.
Twenty men from Tamil Nadu were shot dead by Andhra Pradesh Police in Chittoor forests in April this year.
Police allege they were smugglers who attacked them. However three men who escaped from police claim the men were arrested while they were travelling in a bus and were taken to the jungle where they were found dead the following day.
They accuse the police of shooting them dead in what they call as a fake encounter. A probe is underway.