Lok Sabha Question No. 330 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-04
Subject: Women Jails
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Smt. Rachna Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 330

TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  THE  04 TH   FEBRUARY,  2025/  MAGHA  15,  1946 (SAKA)

WOMEN JAILS

330.     SMT. RACHNA BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the number of women jails in the country, State-wise;

(b)  whether  the  huge  number  of  women  inmates  in  the  country's  jails living with their children and the issue of proper diet, education and space to  play  for  the  children  lodged  in  the  jails  with  their  mothers  is  rarely addressed, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the lack of adequate space in jails for women prisoners also raises  questions  about  the  well-being  of  these  women  inmates  with children, if so, the details thereof;

(d)  whether  the  jails  do  not  have  any  formal  education  system  for  the children living with their mothers; and

(e)  if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  provide  formal education to those children living in jails with their mothers?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI BANDI SANJAY KUMAR)

(a): The 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 2022. State/UT-wise number of women jails in the country as on 31.12.2022 are given in the Annexure.

(b)  and  (c):  'Prisons'/'persons  detained  therein'  is  a  'State-list'  subject under  Entry  4  of  List  II  of  the  Seventh  Schedule  to  the  Constitution  of India.  The  administration  and  management  of  prisons  and  prisoners  is, therefore, in the exclusive jurisdiction of respective State Governments/UT Administrations, who are competent to take appropriate steps for the welfare of women inmates and the children living with them in  the  jails.  However,  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  (MHA),  on  its  part, supplements  the  efforts  of  the  State  Governments  in  efficient  prison administration  by  providing  them  suitable  guidelines  from  time  to  time. MHA had  issued  an  advisory  to  all  States  and  Union  Territories,  which inter-alia, provide that the children of prison inmates living with them in the jails should be provided access to education, recreational facilities, food, shelter and medical assistance etc. The Model Prison Manual 2016 circulated  by  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  to  all  States  and  Union Territories  also  has  a  specific  chapter  on  'Women  Prisoners',  which, inter-alia,  provides  guidance on Children of Women prisoners living with them in the jails, their healthcare, diet, personal hygiene, etc. The Manual provides that prison administration should ensure holistic development of the children of women inmates living with them in the jails. MHA had also circulated a report titled 'Women in Prisons' prepared by the Ministry of Women and Child Development  to all  States  and  UTs.  The  report, inter-

alia,  contains  recommendations  on  'children  of  women  prisoners'  and 'better living arrangements' for women inmates and their children, etc. (d) and (e): The Model Prison Manual, 2016 provides that children upto the age  of  six  years  only  can  stay  with  their  mothers  in  the  jail.  State Governments/UT Administrations are competent to take appropriate steps for  providing  formal  education  to  children  of  women  prisoners  living  in prisons.  The  Model  Prison  Manual  also  provides  that  the  children  of women prisoners living in the prison shall be given proper education and recreational opportunities and there shall be a well-equipped creche and a  nursery  school  attached  to  a  prison  for  women  where  the  children  of women prisoners shall be looked after.

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State/UT-wise number of Women Jails in the country as on 31.12.2022

| S. No.   | State/UT          |   Number of Exclusive Women Jails |
|----------|-------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    |                                 2 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh |                                 0 |
| 3        | Assam             |                                 0 |
| 4        | Bihar             |                                 2 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      |                                 0 |
| 6        | Goa               |                                 0 |
| 7        | Gujarat           |                                 2 |
| 8        | Haryana           |                                 0 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh  |                                 0 |
| 10       | Jharkhand         |                                 0 |
| 11       | Karnataka         |                                 1 |
| 12       | Kerala            |                                 3 |
| 13       | Madhya Pradesh    |                                 0 |
| 14       | Maharashtra       |                                 1 |
| 15       | Manipur           |                                 0 |
| 16       | Meghalaya         |                                 0 |
| 17       | Mizoram           |                                 1 |
| 18       | Nagaland          |                                 0 |
| 19       | Odisha            |                                 1 |
| 20       | Punjab            |                                 2 |
| 21       | Rajasthan         |                                 7 |
| 22       | Sikkim            |                                 0 |
| 23       | Tamil Nadu        |                                 5 |
| 24       | Telangana         |                                 1 |
| 25       | Tripura           |                                 1 |
| 26       | Uttar Pradesh     |                                 2 |
| 27       | Uttarakhand       |                                 0 |
| 28       | West Bengal       |                                 1 |
| 29       | A & N Islands     |                                 0 |
| 30       | Chandigarh        |                                 0 |
| 31       | DNH & Daman Diu   |                                 0 |
| 32       | Delhi             |                                 2 |
| 33       | Jammu & Kashmir   |                                 0 |
| 34       | Ladakh            |                                 0 |
| 35       | Lakshadweep       |                                 0 |
| 36       | Puducherry        |                                 0 |
|          | Total             |                                34 |

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