Lok Sabha Question No. 2426 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-09
Subject: Undertrials Prisoners
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: K. Subbarayan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2426

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 9 TH   MARCH, 2021/ PHALGUNA 18, 1942 (SAKA)

UNDERTRIALS PRISONERS

2426.  SHRI SUBBARAYAN K.:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  the  proportion  of  undertrial  prisoners  from  the  Dalit  community  to  the total number of undertrial prisoners, State-wise;

(b)  the  number  of  undertrials  lodged  in  prisons  for  more  than  5  years,  10 years and 15 years, State-wise;

(c)  the  proportion  of  convicted  prisoners  from  the  Dalit  community  to  the total number of convicted prisoners; and

(d) whether the Government is likely to take speedy measures to release the undertrials who are in the jails for more than five years and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a):   National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  compiles  prison  statistics reported to it  by  States  and  Union  Territories  (UTs)  and  publishes  it  in  its annual report 'Prison Statistics India'. The latest published report is of the year  2019.  Category-wise  details  of  the  undertial  prisoners  in  the  jails  of States and UTs as on 31st December, 2019 are given in Annexure-I. State/UT  wise  details  of  undertrial  prisoners  lodged  in  prisons  for more than 5 years are given in Annexure-II.  Details of undertrial prisoners lodged  in  jails  for  more  than  10  years  and  15  years  is  not  maintained  by

(b): NCRB.

## L.S.US.Q NO. 2426 FOR 09.03.2021

- (c): Category-wise details of convicted prisoners in the jails of States and UTs as on 31st December, 2019 are given in Annexure-III.

(d): Undertrials are detained in prisons as per the order of the Courts and by following due process of law. 'Prisons' and 'persons detained therein' are State  subjects  under  Entry  4  of  List  II  of  the  Seventh  Schedule  to  the Constitution  of  India.  Administration  and  management  of  prisons  is  the responsibility  of  respective  State  Governments.  However,  the  Ministry  of Home  Affairs  has  taken  various  steps  to  address  the  issues  relating  to undertrial prisoners. Section 436A has been inserted in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for release of an under-trial  prisoner  on  bail on undergoing detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for an offence under any law (not being an offence for which the punishment of death has been specified as one of the punishments under that law). E-prisons Software, which is a Prison Management  Application  integrated  with  Interoperable  Criminal  Justice System  provides  facility  to  State  Jail  authorities  to  access  the  data  of inmates in a quick and easy manner and helps them in identifying inmates whose cases are due for consideration by the Under Trial Review Committee. State Legal Services Authorities have established Legal Service Clinics  in  Jails  and  have  deployed  Para  Legal  Volunteers  with  a  view  to provide free legal assistance to persons in need.

## L.S.US.Q NO. 2426 FOR 09.03.2021

On  directions  of  the  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  of  India,  National  Legal Services  Authority  (NALSA)  had  prepared  a  Standard  Operating  Procedure (SOP) for Under-Trial Review Committees.  This SOP was also circulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs to all  States and UTs on 18th February 2019. The Model Prison Manual 2016 circulated to all States and UTs also has a Chapter on 'Legal Aid' which provides the details of facilities that are to be provided to undertrials, viz. legal defence, interview with lawyer, signing of Vakaltatnama,  application  to  Courts  for  legal  aid  at  Government  cost  etc. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued various advisories to States & UTs  to  adopt  various  measures  to  reduce  overcrowding  in  prisons  and addressing the issue of undertrials. These advisories are available on MHA's website: https://mha.gov.in/ .

*****

Annexure-I st December, 2019

## Category-wise details of Undertrial Prisoners as on 31

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          | SC    | ST    | OBC    | Others   | Total number of Undertrial prisoners   |
|-----------|-------------------|-------|-------|--------|----------|----------------------------------------|
| (1)       | (2)               | (3)   | (4)   | (5)    | (6)      | (7)                                    |
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 964   | 773   | 2004   | 1028     | 4769                                   |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 0     | 44    | 0      | 62       | 106                                    |
| 3         | ASSAM             | 1009  | 1421  | 1751   | 1949     | 6130                                   |
| 4         | BIHAR             | 6843  | 1341  | 15832  | 7259     | 31275                                  |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH      | 1636  | 3471  | 3041   | 1681     | 9829                                   |
| 6         | GOA               | 65    | 52    | 41     | 211      | 369                                    |
| 7         | GUJARAT           | 1289  | 1468  | 4795   | 2247     | 9799                                   |
| 8         | HARYANA           | 3566  | 177   | 3864   | 5553     | 13160                                  |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 390   | 66    | 179    | 790      | 1425                                   |
| 10        | JAMMU & KASHMIR@  | 177   | 250   | 65     | 2583     | 3075                                   |
| 11        | JHARKHAND         | 2316  | 3336  | 5011   | 2096     | 12759                                  |
| 12        | KARNATAKA         | 2511  | 1136  | 5277   | 1576     | 10500                                  |
| 13        | KERALA            | 862   | 231   | 2268   | 969      | 4330                                   |
| 14        | MADHYA PRADESH    | 4885  | 5894  | 8716   | 4662     | 24157                                  |
| 15        | MAHARASHTRA       | NA    | NA    | NA     | NA       | 27557                                  |
| 16        | MANIPUR           | 12    | 208   | 491    | 47       | 758                                    |
| 17        | MEGHALAYA         | 92    | 624   | 26     | 119      | 861                                    |
| 18        | MIZORAM           | 21    | 1057  | 19     | 0        | 1097                                   |
| 19        | NAGALAND          | 64    | 225   | 1      | 24       | 314                                    |
| 20        | ODISHA            | 4176  | 3720  | 3249   | 2658     | 13803                                  |
| 21        | PUNJAB            | 6831  | 172   | 3488   | 5458     | 15949                                  |
| 22        | RAJASTHAN         | 3437  | 2774  | 6374   | 2793     | 15378                                  |
| 23        | SIKKIM            | 45    | 57    | 137    | 16       | 255                                    |
| 24        | TAMIL NADU        | 2466  | 218   | 6399   | 161      | 9244                                   |
| 25        | TELANGANA         | 823   | 601   | 1676   | 1284     | 4384                                   |
| 26        | TRIPURA           | 115   | 95    | 99     | 259      | 568                                    |
| 27        | UTTAR PRADESH     | 17995 | 3945  | 31259  | 20219    | 73418                                  |
| 28        | UTTARAKHAND       | 769   | 275   | 805    | 1524     | 3373                                   |
| 29        | WEST BENGAL#      | 2007  | 878   | 1830   | 11763    | 16478                                  |
|           | TOTAL (STATES)    | 65366 | 34509 | 108697 | 78991    | 315120                                 |
| 30        | A & N ISLANDS     | 0     | 5     | 26     | 101      | 132                                    |
| 31        | CHANDIGARH        | 217   | 1     | 142    | 220      | 580                                    |
| 32        | D & N HAVELI*     | 3     | 12    | 7      | 24       | 46                                     |
| 33        | DAMAN & DIU*      | 7     | 8     | 10     | 21       | 46                                     |
| 34        | DELHI             | 3654  | 216   | 4067   | 6445     | 14382                                  |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP       | 0     | 4     | 0      | 0        | 4                                      |
| 36        | PUDUCHERRY        | 55    | 1     | 113    | 8        | 177                                    |
|           | TOTAL (UTs)       | 3936  | 247   | 4365   | 6819     | 15367                                  |
|           | TOTAL (ALL-INDIA) | 69302 | 34756 | 113062 | 85810    | 330487                                 |

NA- Data not available.

## State/UT-wise Number of Undertrial Prisoners lodged in prisons above 5 years as on 31 st December, 2019

| S.No.   | State/UT          |   Numbers |
|---------|-------------------|-----------|
| 1       | ANDHRA PRADESH    |         1 |
| 2       | ARUNACHAL PRADESH |         5 |
| 3       | ASSAM             |        23 |
| 4       | BIHAR             |       270 |
| 5       | CHHATTISGARH      |        46 |
| 6       | GOA               |        11 |
| 7       | GUJARAT           |       223 |
| 8       | HARYANA           |        16 |
| 9       | HIMACHAL PRADESH  |        13 |
| 10      | JAMMU & KASHMIR@  |       201 |
| 11      | JHARKHAND         |       227 |
| 12      | KARNATAKA         |       124 |
| 13      | KERALA            |        14 |
| 14      | MADHYA PRADESH    |       118 |
| 15      | MAHARASHTRA       |       394 |
| 16      | MANIPUR           |        17 |
| 17      | MEGHALAYA         |        18 |
| 18      | MIZORAM           |         0 |
| 19      | NAGALAND          |         0 |
| 20      | ODISHA            |       275 |
| 21      | PUNJAB            |        22 |
| 22      | RAJASTHAN         |       263 |
| 23      | SIKKIM            |         0 |
| 24      | TAMIL NADU        |        12 |
| 25      | TELANGANA         |         2 |
| 26      | TRIPURA           |         1 |
| 27      | UTTAR PRADESH     |      2142 |
| 28      | UTTARAKHAND       |        18 |
| 29      | WEST BENGAL#      |       303 |
|         | TOTAL (STATES)    |      4759 |
| 30      | A & N ISLANDS     |         0 |
| 31      | CHANDIGARH        |         0 |
| 32      | D & N HAVELI*     |         0 |
| 33      | DAMAN & DIU*      |         0 |
| 34      | DELHI             |       252 |
| 35      | LAKSHADWEEP       |         0 |
| 36      | PUDUCHERRY        |         0 |
|         | TOTAL (UTs)       |       252 |
|         | TOTAL (ALL-INDIA) |      5011 |

- @  Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are now Union Territories. This is consolidated data of both UTs- Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
*   Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have since been merged into one UT. .
- #   Due to non-receipt of data from West Bengal for the year 2018 & 2019, data furnished for the year 2017 has been used.

Annexure-III st December, 2019

## State/UT-wise Caste of Convicts as on 31

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          | SC    | ST    | OBC   | Others   | Total number of convicts   |
|-----------|-------------------|-------|-------|-------|----------|----------------------------|
| (1)       | (2)               | (3)   | (4)   | (5)   | (6)      | (7)                        |
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 651   | 329   | 1286  | 522      | 2788                       |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 0     | 76    | 0     | 65       | 141                        |
| 3         | ASSAM             | 558   | 542   | 659   | 1337     | 3096                       |
| 4         | BIHAR             | 1372  | 273   | 4508  | 2372     | 8525                       |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH      | 1485  | 2906  | 2930  | 941      | 8262                       |
| 6         | GOA               | 12    | 9     | 75    | 53       | 149                        |
| 7         | GUJARAT           | 951   | 813   | 1767  | 1061     | 4592                       |
| 8         | HARYANA           | 1537  | 141   | 1726  | 3832     | 7236                       |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 172   | 127   | 116   | 533      | 948                        |
| 10        | JAMMU & KASHMIR@  | 19    | 10    | 10    | 170      | 209                        |
| 11        | JHARKHAND         | 697   | 1985  | 2275  | 914      | 5871                       |
| 12        | KARNATAKA         | 740   | 478   | 1868  | 911      | 3997                       |
| 13        | KERALA            | 537   | 133   | 1650  | 811      | 3131                       |
| 14        | MADHYA PRADESH    | 5017  | 5303  | 6492  | 3441     | 20253                      |
| 15        | MAHARASHTRA       | 2056  | 1335  | 2228  | 3477     | 9096                       |
| 16        | MANIPUR           | 5     | 13    | 80    | 17       | 115                        |
| 17        | MEGHALAYA         | 12    | 139   | 2     | 7        | 160                        |
| 18        | MIZORAM           | 16    | 580   | 1     | 0        | 597                        |
| 19        | NAGALAND          | 23    | 95    | 0     | 0        | 118                        |
| 20        | ODISHA            | 1024  | 1145  | 949   | 607      | 3725                       |
| 21        | PUNJAB            | 2786  | 106   | 1444  | 3836     | 8172                       |
| 22        | RAJASTHAN         | 1309  | 1177  | 2491  | 1212     | 6189                       |
| 23        | SIKKIM            | 13    | 44    | 70    | 18       | 145                        |
| 24        | TAMIL NADU        | 967   | 79    | 2985  | 192      | 4223                       |
| 25        | TELANGANA         | 455   | 257   | 671   | 705      | 2088                       |
| 26        | TRIPURA           | 99    | 156   | 169   | 106      | 530                        |
| 27        | UTTAR PRADESH     | 6143  | 852   | 11826 | 8791     | 27612                      |
| 28        | UTTARAKHAND       | 562   | 229   | 577   | 888      | 2256                       |
| 29        | WEST BENGAL#      | 1311  | 305   | 585   | 4052     | 6253                       |
|           | TOTAL (STATES)    | 30529 | 19637 | 49440 | 40871    | 140477                     |
| 30        | A & N ISLANDS     | 0     | 1     | 16    | 95       | 112                        |
| 31        | CHANDIGARH        | 147   | 0     | 65    | 192      | 404                        |
| 32        | D & N HAVELI*     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0        | 0                          |
| 33        | DAMAN & DIU*      | 2     | 2     | 5     | 7        | 16                         |
| 34        | DELHI             | 654   | 58    | 806   | 1526     | 3044                       |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0        | 0                          |
| 36        | PUDUCHERRY        | 10    | 0     | 62    | 0        | 72                         |
|           | TOTAL (UTs)       | 813   | 61    | 954   | 1820     | 3648                       |
|           | TOTAL (ALL-INDIA) | 31342 | 19698 | 50394 | 42691    | 144125                     |

@  Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are now Union Territories. This is consolidated data of both UTs- Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

*   Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have since been merged into one UT. .

#   Due to non-receipt of data from West Bengal for the year 2018 & 2019, data furnished for the year 2017 has been used.