Lok Sabha Question No. 1613 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-06
Subject: Women Undertrials
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: KALIKESH NARAYAN SINGH DEO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1613

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 06 TH  MARCH, 2018 /PHALGUNA 15, 1939 (SAKA) WOMEN UNDERTRIALS

1613. SHRI KALIKESH N. SINGH DEO:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  the details of female undertrials in district jails languishing in the prisons for the last many years and contributing to overcrowding in the prisons; and

(b) the measures taken by the Government to solve the problem of overcrowding?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI HANSRAJ GANGARAM AHIR)

(a)  : States/UT wise details of female undertrials in various jails of the country for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 are given in Annexure.

(b):    'Prisons'  is  a  State  subject  as  per  entry  4  of  List  II  of  the  Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The administration and management of prisons is primarily the responsibility of respective  State  Governments. However,  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  undertaken  various  initiatives  to address the issue of overcrowding in prisons. Through CrPC Amendment Act 2005,  Section  436A  was  inserted  in  Cr  PC  which  provides  the  right  to  an undertrial to seek bail on serving more than one half of the maximum possible

## L.S.US.Q NO. 1613 FOR 06.03.2018

sentence on personal bond.  This was informed to all State and UTs through an advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. This was followed by another advisory  in  which  the  directions  of  the  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  were  shared with the States and they were requested to prepare lists of undertrial prisoners for  review  under  Section 436-A and put in place a permanent mechanism for providing  relief  to  undertrial  prisoners.  The  Government  of  India  has  also introduced the concept of plea bargaining through Section 265 of Cr PC.  All these  measures  are  intended  to  help  the  States  to  reduce  overcrowding  in prisons.

Besides the advisories issued from time to time, Model Prison Manual 2016 was also  forwarded  to  all  States  and  Union  Territories  in  May  2016.  The  Prison Manual has dedicated chapters on 'Remission', 'Legal Aid', 'Premature Release', 'Parole and Furlough', and 'Open Institutions' which address the issue of reducing population in prisons.  The Ministry of Home Affairs also convenes the  meetings  of  DG/IGs  on  a  periodic  basis  during  which  issues  related  to undertrial prisoners and overcrowding in prisons are deliberated upon and the States  are  urged  to  take  all  possible  measures  provided  in  law  to  reduce overcrowding in prisons.

*********

## L.S.US.Q NO. 1613 FOR 06.03.2018

Annexure-I

## State/UT-wise Female Capacity, Number of Female Undertrials and  Occupancy Rate of Female Undertrials in District Jails as on 31.12.2014

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          | No. of District Jails   | Total Female Capacity   | No. of Female Undertrials in District Jails   | Occupancy Rate of Female Undertrials   |
|-----------|-------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| (1)       | (2)               | (3)                     | (4)                     | (5)                                           | (6)                                    |
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 7                       | 145                     | 66                                            | 45.5                                   |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 1                       | 12                      | 4                                             | 33.3                                   |
| 3         | ASSAM             | 22                      | 363                     | 108                                           | 29.8                                   |
| 4         | BIHAR             | 31                      | 599                     | 577                                           | 96.3                                   |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH      | 10                      | 94                      | 103                                           | 109.6                                  |
| 6         | GOA               | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 7         | GUJARAT           | 7                       | 87                      | 61                                            | 70.1                                   |
| 8         | HARYANA           | 16                      | 1239                    | 345                                           | 27.8                                   |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 2                       | 27                      | 14                                            | 51.9                                   |
| 10        | JAMMU & KASHMIR   | 10                      | 111                     | 54                                            | 48.6                                   |
| 11        | JHARKHAND         | 17                      | 282                     | 437                                           | 155.0                                  |
| 12        | KARNATAKA         | 19                      | 334                     | 122                                           | 36.5                                   |
| 13        | KERALA            | 11                      | 69                      | 22                                            | 31.9                                   |
| 14        | MADHYA PRADESH    | 33                      | 587                     | 353                                           | 60.1                                   |
| 15        | MAHARASHTRA       | 27                      | 334                     | 383                                           | 114.7                                  |
| 16        | MANIPUR           | 2                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 17        | MEGHALAYA         | 4                       | 45                      | 2                                             | 4.4                                    |
| 18        | MIZORAM           | 6                       | 121                     | 18                                            | 14.9                                   |
| 19        | NAGALAND          | 3                       | 50                      | 2                                             | 4.0                                    |
| 20        | ODISHA            | 9                       | 165                     | 75                                            | 45.5                                   |
| 21        | PUNJAB            | 6                       | 268                     | 171                                           | 63.8                                   |
| 22        | RAJASTHAN         | 25                      | 201                     | 187                                           | 93.0                                   |
| 23        | SIKKIM            | 1                       | 19                      | 2                                             | 10.5                                   |
| 24        | TAMIL NADU        | 9                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 25        | TELANGANA         | 7                       | 184                     | 118                                           | 64.1                                   |
| 26        | TRIPURA           | 2                       | 6                       | 2                                             | 33.3                                   |
| 27        | UTTAR PRADESH     | 56                      | 2627                    | 2502                                          | 95.2                                   |
| 28        | UTTARAKHAND       | 7                       | 110                     | 41                                            | 37.3                                   |
| 29        | WEST BENGAL       | 12                      | 555                     | 249                                           | 44.9                                   |
|           | TOTAL (STATES)    | 362                     | 8634                    | 6018                                          | 69.7                                   |
| 30        | A & N ISLANDS     | 1                       | 30                      | 4                                             | 13.3                                   |
| 31        | CHANDIGARH        | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 32        | D & N HAVELI      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 33        | DAMAN & DIU       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 34        | DELHI             | 1                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
|           | TOTAL (UTs)       | 2                       | 30                      | 4                                             | 13.3                                   |
|           | TOTAL (ALL-INDIA) | 364                     | 8664                    | 6022                                          | 69.5                                   |

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          | No. of District Jails   | Total Female Capacity   | No. of Female Undertrials in District Jails   | Occupancy Rate of Female Undertrials   |
|-----------|-------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| (1)       | (2)               | (3)                     | (4)                     | (5)                                           | (6)                                    |
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 7                       | 139                     | 79                                            | 56.8                                   |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 2                       | 24                      | 4                                             | 16.7                                   |
| 3         | ASSAM             | 22                      | 363                     | 119                                           | 32.8                                   |
| 4         | BIHAR             | 31                      | 599                     | 427                                           | 71.3                                   |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH      | 11                      | 87                      | 114                                           | 131.0                                  |
| 6         | GOA               | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 7         | GUJARAT           | 7                       | 87                      | 61                                            | 70.1                                   |
| 8         | HARYANA           | 16                      | 1247                    | 336                                           | 26.9                                   |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 2                       | 27                      | 4                                             | 14.8                                   |
| 10        | JAMMU & KASHMIR   | 10                      | 131                     | 46                                            | 35.1                                   |
| 11        | JHARKHAND         | 17                      | 282                     | 419                                           | 148.6                                  |
| 12        | KARNATAKA         | 19                      | 309                     | 118                                           | 38.2                                   |
| 13        | KERALA            | 11                      | 69                      | 27                                            | 39.1                                   |
| 14        | MADHYA PRADESH    | 39                      | 628                     | 431                                           | 68.6                                   |
| 15        | MAHARASHTRA       | 28                      | 334                     | 351                                           | 105.1                                  |
| 16        | MANIPUR           | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 17        | MEGHALAYA         | 4                       | 45                      | 8                                             | 17.8                                   |
| 18        | MIZORAM           | 6                       | 96                      | 13                                            | 13.5                                   |
| 19        | NAGALAND          | 10                      | 160                     | 7                                             | 4.4                                    |
| 20        | ODISHA            | 9                       | 165                     | 117                                           | 70.9                                   |
| 21        | PUNJAB            | 7                       | 238                     | 108                                           | 45.4                                   |
| 22        | RAJASTHAN         | 24                      | 260                     | 117                                           | 45.0                                   |
| 23        | SIKKIM            | 1                       | 19                      | 9                                             | 47.4                                   |
| 24        | TAMIL NADU        | 9                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 25        | TELANGANA         | 7                       | 224                     | 100                                           | 44.6                                   |
| 26        | TRIPURA           | 2                       | 6                       | 4                                             | 66.7                                   |
| 27        | UTTAR PRADESH     | 57                      | 2635                    | 2420                                          | 91.8                                   |
| 28        | UTTARAKHAND       | 7                       | 110                     | 66                                            | 60.0                                   |
| 29        | WEST BENGAL       | 12                      | 280                     | 238                                           | 85.0                                   |
|           | TOTAL (STATES)    | 377                     | 8564                    | 5743                                          | 67.1                                   |
| 30        | A & N ISLANDS     | 1                       | 30                      | 5                                             | 16.7                                   |
| 31        | CHANDIGARH        | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 32        | D & N HAVELI      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 33        | DAMAN & DIU       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 34        | DELHI             | 1                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 36        | PUDUCHERRY        | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
|           | TOTAL (UTs)       | 2                       | 30                      | 5                                             | 16.7                                   |
|           | TOTAL (ALL-INDIA) | 379                     | 8594                    | 5748                                          | 66.9                                   |

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          | No. of District Jails   | Total Female Capacity   | No. of Female Undertrials in District Jails   | Occupancy Rate of Female Undertrials   |
|-----------|-------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| (1)       | (2)               | (3)                     | (4)                     | (5)                                           | (6)                                    |
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 8                       | 139                     | 83                                            | 59.7                                   |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 2                       | 24                      | 6                                             | 25.0                                   |
| 3         | ASSAM             | 22                      | 457                     | 104                                           | 22.8                                   |
| 4         | BIHAR             | 31                      | 599                     | 563                                           | 94.0                                   |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH      | 11                      | 94                      | 99                                            | 105.3                                  |
| 6         | GOA               | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 7         | GUJARAT           | 7                       | 87                      | 68                                            | 78.2                                   |
| 8         | HARYANA           | 16                      | 1250                    | 306                                           | 24.5                                   |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 9                       | 88                      | 31                                            | 35.2                                   |
| 10        | JAMMU & KASHMIR   | 10                      | 131                     | 64                                            | 48.9                                   |
| 11        | JHARKHAND         | 17                      | 282                     | 358                                           | 127.0                                  |
| 12        | KARNATAKA         | 19                      | 209                     | 131                                           | 62.7                                   |
| 13        | KERALA            | 11                      | 69                      | 26                                            | 37.7                                   |
| 14        | MADHYA PRADESH    | 40                      | 634                     | 450                                           | 71.0                                   |
| 15        | MAHARASHTRA       | 28                      | 434                     | 401                                           | 92.4                                   |
| 16        | MANIPUR           | 2                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 17        | MEGHALAYA         | 5                       | 55                      | 12                                            | 21.8                                   |
| 18        | MIZORAM           | 6                       | 96                      | 11                                            | 11.5                                   |
| 19        | NAGALAND          | 10                      | 160                     | 4                                             | 2.5                                    |
| 20        | ODISHA            | 9                       | 165                     | 75                                            | 45.5                                   |
| 21        | PUNJAB            | 7                       | 238                     | 103                                           | 43.3                                   |
| 22        | RAJASTHAN         | 24                      | 264                     | 156                                           | 59.1                                   |
| 23        | SIKKIM            | 1                       | 19                      | 2                                             | 10.5                                   |
| 24        | TAMIL NADU        | 10                      | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 25        | TELANGANA         | 7                       | 224                     | 103                                           | 46.0                                   |
| 26        | TRIPURA           | 2                       | 6                       | 1                                             | 16.7                                   |
| 27        | UTTAR PRADESH     | 60                      | 2725                    | 2580                                          | 94.7                                   |
| 28        | UTTARAKHAND       | 7                       | 110                     | 31                                            | 28.2                                   |
| 29        | WEST BENGAL       | 12                      | 280                     | 265                                           | 94.6                                   |
|           | TOTAL (STATES)    | 393                     | 8839                    | 6033                                          | 68.3                                   |
| 30        | A & N ISLANDS     | 1                       | 30                      | 7                                             | 23.3                                   |
| 31        | CHANDIGARH        | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 32        | D & N HAVELI      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 33        | DAMAN & DIU       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 34        | DELHI             | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
| 36        | PUDUCHERRY        | 0                       | 0                       | 0                                             | -                                      |
|           | TOTAL (UTs)       | 1                       | 30                      | 7                                             | 23.3                                   |
|           | TOTAL (ALL-INDIA) | 394                     | 8869                    | 6040                                          | 68.1                                   |