New Delhi: Prison population across India fell from 5,73,220 in 2022 to 5,30,333 in 2023, which helped in easing some pressure on the correctional facilities, but overcrowding remains acute in several regions, especially Delhi’s prisons which have an alarming 200% occupancy rate. This was underlined in the latest Prison Statistics India 2023 report, released Monday by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The decline in prison population across the nation has brought down the overall occupancy rate to 120.8% in 2023, compared to 131.4% in 2022 and 130.2% in 2021. However, occupancy in Delhi prisons remains the highest among all states and union territories while Telangana had the lowest occupancy rate, at 72.8%.
According to the report, India had at least 1,332 prisons housing at least 5.3 lakh inmates as of December 31, 2023. While the number of prisons rose marginally from 1,330 in 2022, the overall inmate additions declined by 4.4% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Significantly, the report shows that undertrials continue to make up nearly three-fourth (73.5%) of all prisoners.
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A look at numbers
It is no secret that Indian jails are overcrowded. Uttar Pradesh’s prisons have a capacity of 65,866 prisoners, but hold 98,849. Madhya Pradesh’s prisons have a capacity of 29,875 prisoners, but have 45,543. Delhi has a capacity of 10,026 prisoners, but has 20,077 prisoners, data from the report shows.
The report also highlights regional imbalances in terms of number of prisons, especially in states like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh that account for over half of all jails in the country. Uttar Pradesh leads in district jails, Tamil Nadu leads in sub-jails, and Delhi in central jails.
Undertrial prisoners were at 3.84 lakh in 2023, down from 4.34 lakh the year before. The report notes a drop of around 10% in these numbers. Despite the decline, they continue to dominate the prisons, accounting for nearly three of every four prisoners. Most undertrials were lodged in district jails (50.5%) and central jails (37.6%).
Uttar Pradesh alone managed to house at least 73,000 undertrial prisoners, the highest in the country. It was followed by Bihar (46,000-plus) and Maharashtra (around 32,000). By contrast, the number of convicts rose slightly, from 1.33 lakh in 2022 to 1.35 lakh in 2023. Most convicts were lodged in central jails (65.5%).
Women prisoners remain a small share of the population. The report flags the presence of 1,318 women living with 1,492 children in Indian prisons. Of these, 1,049 were undertrial prisoners.
Further, nearly 44% of inmates were from the age group of 18 to 30, and 43% from the age group of 30 to 50. A quarter of all prisoners were not educated, and over 40% had not studied beyond Class X.
Two years after the Union home ministry launched the ‘Support to Poor Prisoners’ scheme, only 144 prisoners have been provided assistance under it. The maximum beneficiaries are from Maharashtra, followed by Madhya Pradesh, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha this July.
The scheme was launched in 2023, providing cash bail of up to Rs 40,000 and penalty payment of up to Rs 25,000 per prisoner to reduce the overcrowding of prisons and help the needy. According to the home ministry data, in the scheme’s first year, fiscal 2023-24, only three states (Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand) utilised the funds and 17 prisoners were provided assistance.
In fiscal 2024-25, Maharashtra provided assistance to 33 prisoners, while Madhya Pradesh did for 25 prisoners. The next is Uttarakhand which aided 11 prisoners. Sikkim provided assistance to only one prisoner. In the ongoing fiscal so far, Maharashtra provided assistance to 23 prisoners till July, while four other states have also used the scheme. Data for all states was not presented in the list.
Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in his response in the Lok Sabha, said guidelines for implementation of the scheme were shared with all states and union territories on 19 June, 2023, and an annual financial outlay of Rs 20 crore provided for fiscals 2024, 2025 and 2026. According to the ministry data, Rs 28.67 lakh have so far been utilised by the states under the scheme. Maharashtra secured up to Rs 5.27 lakh and Rs 3.84 lakh in the previous fiscal and the ongoing one, respectively.
More foreign inmates
Prison Statistics India 2023 also highlights the increasing number of foreign inmates in India’s prisons. The numbers rose by 10.7%, from 6,283 in 2022 to 6,956 such prisoners in 2023. Of these, 74.3% were undertrials and 21.5% were convicts.
Prisoners from Bangladesh made up the largest group of convicts from foreign countries. It was followed by Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan and Nigeria. West Bengal housed more than half of all foreign convicts, while Maharashtra and Delhi reported large shares of foreign undertrials.
In 2023, the report also saw 1972 deaths inside prisons, of which 1,787 were natural and 150 were unnatural. Most natural deaths were linked to illnesses, with heart-related ailments, lung disease, and liver problems topping the list.
Among unnatural deaths, suicides accounted for 96 cases, primarily through hanging. Punjab reported the highest number of unnatural deaths, followed by Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
Adding to the grim picture, at least 545 convicts remained on death row at the end of 2023, including 145 sentenced that year. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of prisoners facing capital punishment.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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