Lok Sabha Question No. 3771 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-21
Subject: Overcrowded Prisons
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Ramcharan Bohra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3771

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 21 ST  DECEMBER, 2021/ AGRAHAYANA 30, 1943 (SAKA) OVERCROWDED PRISONS

†3771. SHRI RAMCHARAN BOHRA:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has made any assessment to find out if the prisons in the country are overcrowded;
- (b) if so, the details thereof alongwith the reasons therefor;
- (c)  the  total  capacity  of  prisons  in  the  country  alongwith  the  total  number  of prisoners therein, State-wise;
- (d)  the  details  of  the  total  number  of  foreign  prisoners  in  the  country,  countrywise; and
- (e) the steps taken by the Government to ensure that the prisons of the country are not overcrowded?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c):  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  compiles  prison  statistics reported to it by States and Union Territories (UTs) and publishes the same in its annual publication 'Prison Statistics India'. The latest published report is of the year  2019.  State/UT-wise  total  available  capacity  of  prisons,  total  number  of prisoners  lodged  in  them  and  occupancy  rate  of  prisons  as  on  31 st   December, 2019 are given in Annexure-I.

- (d):  Country-wise  number  of  foreigner  prisoners  lodged  in  prisons  across  the country as on 31 st  December, 2019 are given in Annexure-II.

## LS.US.Q.NO.3771 FOR 21.12.2021

(e): 'Prisons'/'persons detained therein' is a State subject under Entry 4 of List II of   the   Seventh  Schedule   to   the  Constitution  of  India.  Administration   and management  of  prisons  is  the  responsibility  of  State  Governments  who  are competent  to  ensure  that  prisons  in  their  jurisdictions  are  not  overcrowded. However,  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  (MHA)  has  taken  several  initiatives  to address  the  issue  of  overcrowding  in  prisons.  The  Government  of  India  has 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  was  also  introduced  by inserting a new 'Chapter XXIA' on 'Plea Bargaining' (Sections 265A to 265L of CrPC)  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 State Jail  authorities  to  access  the  data  of  inmates  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  to  provide  free  legal assistance  to  persons  in  need.  The  Model  Prison  Manual  2016,  prepared  and circulated  to  States  and  UTs  by  MHA,  has  a  dedicated  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

## LS.US.Q.NO.3771 FOR 21.12.2021

Courts  for  legal  aid  at  Government  cost  etc.  MHA  has  also  issued  various advisories to the States & UTs for adopting appropriate measures to address the issue  of  overcrowding  in  prisons.  These  advisories  are  available  on  MHA's website at: https://mha.gov.in .

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## LS.US.Q.NO.3771 FOR 21.12.2021

## Annexure-I

State/UT-wise  total  available  capacity,  total  number  of  prisoners  and  occupancy  rate  as  on  31st December, 2019

| Sl No.   | State/UT          |   Total Capacity available |   Total number of Prisoners |   Occupancy Rate |
|----------|-------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------|------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    |                       8789 |                        7579 |             86.2 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh |                        233 |                         247 |            106   |
| 3        | Assam             |                       8888 |                        9226 |            103.8 |
| 4        | Bihar             |                      42222 |                       39814 |             94.3 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      |                      12063 |                       18112 |            150.1 |
| 6        | Goa               |                        624 |                         518 |             83   |
| 7        | Gujarat           |                      13762 |                       15089 |            109.6 |
| 8        | Haryana           |                      19306 |                       20423 |            105.8 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh  |                       2146 |                        2373 |            110.6 |
| 10       | Jammu & Kashmir@  |                       2910 |                        3689 |            126.8 |
| 11       | Jharkhand         |                      16795 |                       18654 |            111.1 |
| 12       | Karnataka         |                      14315 |                       14515 |            101.4 |
| 13       | Kerala            |                       6841 |                        7499 |            109.6 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh    |                      28718 |                       44603 |            155.3 |
| 15       | Maharashtra       |                      24095 |                       36798 |            152.7 |
| 16       | Manipur           |                       1272 |                         876 |             68.9 |
| 17       | Meghalaya         |                        650 |                        1023 |            157.4 |
| 18       | Mizoram           |                       1601 |                        1698 |            106.1 |
| 19       | Nagaland          |                       1450 |                         446 |             30.8 |
| 20       | Odisha            |                      19291 |                       17563 |             91   |
| 21       | Punjab            |                      23488 |                       24174 |            102.9 |
| 22       | Rajasthan         |                      22952 |                       21599 |             94.1 |
| 23       | Sikkim            |                        260 |                         400 |            153.8 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu        |                      23392 |                       14707 |             62.9 |
| 25       | Telangana         |                       7785 |                        6717 |             86.3 |
| 26       | Tripura           |                       2174 |                        1103 |             50.7 |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh     |                      60340 |                      101297 |            167.9 |
| 28       | Uttarakhand       |                       3540 |                        5629 |            159   |
| 29       | West Bengal #     |                      21772 |                       23092 |            106.1 |
| 30       | A & N Islands     |                        309 |                         244 |             79   |
| 31       | Chandigarh        |                       1120 |                         984 |             87.9 |
| 32       | D&N Haveli *      |                         70 |                          46 |             65.7 |
| 33       | Daman & Diu *     |                         60 |                          62 |            103.3 |
| 34       | Delhi             |                      10026 |                       17534 |            174.9 |
| 35       | Lakshadweep       |                         64 |                           4 |              6.3 |
| 36       | Puducherry        |                        416 |                         263 |             63.2 |
|          | Total             |                     403739 |                      478600 |            118.5 |

@ Now Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.

* Union Territory of D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu have been merged.

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

## LS.US.Q.NO.3771 FOR 21.12.2021

## Annexure-II

## Country-wise total number of foreigner prisoners as on 31st December, 2019

| SI. No.   | Nationality/Country                          |   Number of Prisoners |
|-----------|----------------------------------------------|-----------------------|
| 1         | Africa (other than Nigeria)                  |                   150 |
| 2         | Australia                                    |                     4 |
| 3         | Bangladesh                                   |                  2513 |
| 4         | Canada                                       |                     1 |
| 5         | China                                        |                    19 |
| 6         | CIS Federation                               |                    14 |
| 7         | Maldives                                     |                     3 |
| 8         | Middle East Countries                        |                    36 |
| 9         | Myanmar                                      |                   301 |
| 10        | Nepal                                        |                   745 |
| 11        | Nigeria                                      |                   811 |
| 12        | North American Countries (other than Canada) |                     8 |
| 13        | Pakistan                                     |                   203 |
| 14        | South American Countries                     |                    30 |
| 15        | South East Asian Countries                   |                    15 |
| 16        | Sri Lanka                                    |                    65 |
| 17        | Other Foreign Nationals                      |                   232 |
|           | Total Foreign Prisoners                      |                  5150 |

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