Lok Sabha Question No. 2246 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-14
Subject: Prisoners in Jails
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shyam Yadav Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2246

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 14 TH  MARCH, 2023/ PHALGUNA 23, 1944 (SAKA)

PRISONERS IN JAILS

2246.      SHRI SHYAM SINGH YADAV:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that around seventy six per cent of prisoners in jails are awaiting trial which is more than the global average of thirty-four per cent, if so, the reasons thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to reduce these numbers and fast-track procedures to ensure that the pre-trial prisoners reach the trial stage;

(b)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  there  is  an  increase  in  the number of arrests post-lockdown period which has led to the overcrowding of jails and is responsible for spreading of communicable diseases, if so, the  details  and  along  with  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  in  this regard; and

- (c)  the  number  of  prisoners  awaiting  trials  belonging  to  the  SC,  ST  and OBC communities in the State of Uttar Pradesh, district-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI AJAY KUMAR MISHRA)

(a):  'Prisons'/'persons  detained  therein'  is  a  'State  List'  subject  under Entry  4  of  List  II  of  the  Seventh  Schedule  to  the  Constitution  of  India. Therefore, the responsibility to take appropriate steps for addressing the issue  of  undertrial  prisoners  in  their  respective  jurisdictions  vests  with respective States/Union Territories (UTs).

## L.S.USQ.NO.2246 FOR 14.03.2023

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also been taking various  initiatives  from  time  to  time  to  supplement  the  efforts  of  the States/UTs  in  this  regard.  MHA  has  issued  several  advisories  to  the States/UTs on the subject matter. The Model Prison Manual 2016 circulated  to  all  States/UTs  has  specific  chapters  on  'Legal  Aid'  and 'Undertrial  Prisoners',  etc,  which  provide  detailed  guidelines  on  the facilities  which  may  be  provided  to  undertrial  inmates,  namely  legal defence,  interview  with  lawyers,  application  to  Courts  for  legal  aid  at Government cost etc.

The Government of India had inserted Section 436A in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 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. The  concept  of  plea  bargaining  has  also  been  introduced  by  inserting  a new 'Chapter XXIA' on 'Plea Bargaining' (Sections 265A to 265L) in the Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  1973,  which  enables  pre-trial  negotiation between the defendant and the prosecution. E-prisons Software, which is a Prison  Management  Application  integrated  with  Interoperable  Criminal Justice System, provides facility to the State Jail authorities to access the data  of  inmates  in  a  quick  and  efficient  manner  and  helps  them  in identifying  the  inmates  whose  cases  are  due  for  consideration  by  the Under Trial Review Committee, etc.

## L.S.USQ.NO.2246 FOR 14.03.2023

The  State  Legal  Services  Authorities  have  established  Legal  Service Clinics  in  jails,  who  provide  free  legal  assistance  to  persons  in  need. These  Legal  Service  Clinics  are  managed  by  Empanelled  Legal  Services Advocates  and  trained  Para-Legal  Volunteers.  These  clinics  have  been established  to  ensure  that  no  prisoner  remains  unrepresented  and  legal aid  and  advice  is  provided  to  them.  National  Legal  Services  Authority (NALSA) also holds awareness camps in jails to generate awareness about the  availability  of  free  legal  aid,  plea  bargaining,  Lok  Adalats  and  legal rights of inmates, including their right to bail. On directions of the Hon'ble Supreme  Court  of  India,  NALSA  had  prepared  a  Standard  Operating Procedure  (SOP)  for  Under-Trial  Review  Committees,  which  has  been circulated by MHA to all States/UTs for making best use of the same.

(b):  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  compiles  prison  statistics reported to it by the States and Union Territories (UTs) and publishes the same  in its annual  publication 'Prison Statistics India'. The  latest published report is of the year 2021. Specific information in this regard is not  available  with  NCRB.  The  State  Governments  are  competent  to  deal with the issue of overcrowding of prisons by making adequate provisions for  extra  barracks  and  additional  jails  for  accommodating  the  prison inmates, as per the need and requirement of the same.

## L.S.USQ.NO.2246 FOR 14.03.2023

(c): As on 31 st   December, 2021, there were 90,606 undertrial prisoners in the  State  of  Uttar  Pradesh.  Out  of  these,  21,942  belonged  to  Scheduled Caste (SC) community, 4,657 belonged to Scheduled Tribe (ST) community and 41,678 belonged to Other Backward Class (OBC). District-wise data of undertrial  prisoners  belonging  to  SC,  ST  and  OBC  community  is  not maintained centrally.

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