Prisons bursting at seams, 5.73L packed in space meant for 4.36L

Animesh Singh

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New Delhi, February 18

Despite several measures taken by the government to prevent overcrowding in prisons, 5.73 lakh inmates were lodged in jails against the capacity of 4.36 lakh as on December 31, 2022.

Decongestion efforts fall flat

• The Centre has tried to address the issue of overcrowding by inserting Section 436A in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the release of an undertrial on bail after undergoing detention for a period
• The concept of plea bargaining has been introduced by inserting Chapter XXIA in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which enables pre-trial negotiation between the defendant and the prosecution
• Legal aid is provided to undertrials at government cost in order to expedite their release and decongest jails

According to government data, 5,73,220 prisoners were lodged in jails across the country even though the total capacity was 4,36,266.

Home Ministry sources said though the administration and management of prisons was a state subject, tasked with ensuring that jails do not get overcrowded, the Centre had tried to address the issue of overcrowding by inserting Section 436A in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for release of an undertrial on bail after undergoing detention for a period extending up to one half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for an offence under any law.

Also, the concept of plea bargaining has been introduced by inserting “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.

Also, the e-prisons software, which is a prison management application integrated with the Interoperable Criminal Justice System, provides a 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 undertrial review committee. Even legal aid is provided to undertrials at government cost in order to expedite their release from prisons, thus decongesting jails in the long run, official sources said.