Lok Sabha Question No. 126 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-12
Subject: Overcrowding in Jails
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Sunil Kumar Mondal, Aparupa  Poddar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *126

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 12 TH  DECEMBER, 2023/ AGRAHAYANA 21, 1945 (SAKA)

OVERCROWDING IN JAILS

*126.     SHRI SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL: SHRIMATI APARUPA PODDAR:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  the  present  status  of  jails  in  the  country  with  numbers,  names  and details of jails where the occupancy rate is more than 200 per cent;

(b)  the  details  of  capacity  of  prisons,  current  number  of  prisoners  in absolute terms and occupancy rate of prisons, State and UT-wise;

(c) whether the Government has made any plan to reduce the overcrowding in prisons and if so, the details thereof;

(d)  whether  the  allocation  of  funds  to  the  States  for  modernization  of prisons  has  been  stopped,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reasons therefor,  State/UT-wise  along  with  corrective  future  initiatives,  if  any, taken in this regard; and

(e) whether the Government proposes to enhance the capacity of prisons and  make  reforms  for  rehabilitation  of  criminals  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

ANSWER

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

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  *126  FOR  12 TH   DECEMBER,  2023  REGARDING  'OVERCROWDING  IN JAILS'.

(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.  Details  of  Jail-wise  capacity  and inmate occupancy as on 31 st  December, 2022 is available on the website of NCRB as an additional table 'Jail-wise capacity and inmate population' at https://www.ncrb.gov.in.

(b): State/UT-wise available capacity, inmate population and occupancy rate of jails as on 31 st December, 2022 are given in Annexure-I.

(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 persons detained therein is therefore  the  responsibility  of  respective  State  Governments,  who  are competent  to  address  the  issue  of  overcrowding  in  prisons  and  for enhancing the capacity of prisons as per local need and requirement of the same. MHA has undertaken the following initiatives to address the issue of overcrowding in prisons:

(i)  The  Government  of  India  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.

(ii) The  concept  of  plea  bargaining  has  been  introduced  by  inserting  a '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.

(iii)  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 efficient manner and helps them in identifying the inmates whose cases are due for consideration by the Under Trial Review Committee, etc.

(iv)    The  Model  Prison  Manual  2016  circulated  to  all  States/  Union Territories has specific chapters on 'Legal Aid' and 'Under  trial Prisoners', etc, which provide detailed guidelines on the facilities which may be provided to under trial inmates, namely legal defence, interview with lawyers, application to Courts for legal aid at Government cost etc.

The State Legal Services Authorities have established Legal Service Clinics  in  jails,  which  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 also holds awareness generation camps in jails to generate awareness about availability of free legal aid, plea bargaining, Lok Adalats and legal rights of inmates, including their right to bail, etc.

The  National  Legal  Services  Authority  had  prepared  a  Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Under-Trial Review Committees, which has been circulated by MHA to all States/Union Territories for making best use of the same and provide relief to prisoners.

States/UTs have been advised to make use of the above guidelines/guidance  to  address  the  issue  of  overcrowding  in  prisons, through various advisories issued from time to time.

(d):  The  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  approved  the  'Modernisation  of Prisons Project' with a financial outlay of Rs 950 crore for a period of five years with effect from Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26. Funds have been

provided to all States and UTs who have adopted the Model Prison Manual, 2016  in  their  jurisdictions.  So  far  an  amount  of  Rs  174  crore  has  been released to the States and UTs. Further release of funds to the States and UTs  under  the  project  depends  upon  utilization  of  the  funds  by  the respective States and UTs for the purpose for which the funds have been provided and on submission of the 'Utilisation Certificate' to MHA.

(e): States/Union Territories are competent to take appropriate steps in their respective jurisdictions for enhancing the capacity of prisons.

MHA has circulated  a  Model Prison  Manual,  2016  to  all  States  and UTs which has dedicated chapters on 'After-care and Rehabilitation' and 'Vocational Training and Skill Development programmes' for prison inmates. MHA has also issued various advisories to the States/UTs for the welfare and reformation of prison inmates. These advisories are available on MHA's website at https://mha.gov.in/

******

ANNEXURE-I L.S.S.Q.NO. *126 FOR 12.12.2023

## State/UT-wise Available Capacity, Inmate Population and Occupancy Rate of Jails as on 31 st December, 2022

| S.No.   | State/UT          |   Available capacity |   Inmate Population |   Occupancy Rate |
|---------|-------------------|----------------------|---------------------|------------------|
| 1       | ANDHRA PRADESH    |                 8659 |                7254 |             83.8 |
| 2       | ARUNACHAL PRADESH |                  333 |                 335 |            100.6 |
| 3       | ASSAM             |                 9564 |               11592 |            121.2 |
| 4       | BIHAR             |                47750 |               64914 |            135.9 |
| 5       | CHHATTISGARH      |                14143 |               20451 |            144.6 |
| 6       | GOA               |                  624 |                 681 |            109.1 |
| 7       | GUJARAT           |                14065 |               16611 |            118.1 |
| 8       | HARYANA           |                20953 |               25471 |            121.6 |
| 9       | HIMACHAL PRADESH  |                 2528 |                2881 |            114   |
| 10      | JHARKHAND         |                17671 |               19615 |            111   |
| 11      | KARNATAKA         |                15589 |               16203 |            103.9 |
| 12      | KERALA            |                 8369 |                8883 |            106.1 |
| 13      | MADHYA PRADESH    |                29715 |               48857 |            164.4 |
| 14      | MAHARASHTRA       |                25443 |               41070 |            161.4 |
| 15      | MANIPUR           |                 1272 |                 855 |             67.2 |
| 16      | MEGHALAYA         |                  680 |                1137 |            167.2 |
| 17      | MIZORAM           |                 1364 |                1580 |            115.8 |
| 18      | NAGALAND          |                 1490 |                 469 |             31.5 |
| 19      | ODISHA            |                22855 |               18962 |             83   |
| 20      | PUNJAB            |                26556 |               30801 |            116   |
| 21      | RAJASTHAN         |                22963 |               24659 |            107.4 |
| 22      | SIKKIM            |                  260 |                 387 |            148.8 |
| 23      | TAMIL NADU        |                24342 |               18806 |             77.3 |
| 24      | TELANGANA         |                 7997 |                6497 |             81.2 |
| 25      | TRIPURA           |                 2365 |                1194 |             50.5 |
| 26      | UTTAR PRADESH     |                67600 |              121609 |            179.9 |
| 27      | UTTARAKHAND       |                 3741 |                6858 |            183.3 |
| 28      | WEST BENGAL       |                21476 |               28789 |            134.1 |
| 29      | A & N ISLANDS     |                  319 |                 258 |             80.9 |
| 30      | CHANDIGARH        |                 1120 |                1195 |            106.7 |
| 31      | DNH&DAMANDIU      |                  170 |                 176 |            103.5 |
| 32      | DELHI             |                10026 |               18497 |            184.5 |
| 33      | JAMMU &KASHMIR    |                 3629 |                5314 |            146.4 |
| 34      | LADAKH            |                  155 |                  30 |             19.4 |
| 35      | LAKSHADWEEP       |                   64 |                   6 |              9.4 |
| 36      | PUDUCHERRY        |                  416 |                 323 |             77.6 |
|         | TOTAL             |               436266 |              573220 |            131.4 |

$ Inmate Population Occupancy Rate = -------------------------------  x 100 Total Capacity