77 pc inmates in prisons 'undertrials', says India Justice Report

New Delhi [India], April 4 : Only 22 per cent of the prison population are convicts while 77 per cent are 'undertrials' or people awaiting the completion of investigation or trial, the latest data published in the India Justice Report (IJR) 2022 has revealed.

The report found that the number of undertrials is the highest it's been since 2010, having nearly doubled from 2.4 lakh in 2010 to 4.3 lakh in 2021: an increase of 78 per cent.

"With the exception of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, and Madhya Pradesh, the undertrial population of all states and Union Territories (UTs) exceeds 60 per cent," the report added.

Between 2017 and 2021, all states/UTs, with the exception of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Puducherry, showed an increase in undertrial population, it said.

While prolonged detention of undertrials is an indication that trials are taking a long time to complete, the report said, "This increases administrative workload, puts further strain on meagre budgets and impinges on spend per prisoner."

At the end of 2021, 11,490 prisoners across the country had been incarcerated for more than 5 years, considerably higher than 7,128 in 2020 and 5,011 in 2019, the report found. However, of the total undertrials released during the year, 96.7 per cent left prison within one year, either on bail or on acquittal/ discharge, or got converted into convicts on completion of the trial, it added.

Across the country, overcrowding is a universal and persistent condition, said IJR which uses the government's own statistics and data to compare and track the improvements and shortfalls in each state's structural and financial capacity to deliver justice.

The report stated that prison populations had risen steadily from 4.81 lakh in 2019 to 4.89 lakh in 2020, and 5.54 lakh in 2021: while the number of people admitted to 1,319 prisons during 2021 increased by 10.8 per cent to 18.1 lakh from 16.3 lakh the year before.

"16 states and three Union Territories housed more prisoners than their overall capacity. 15 states/ UTs posted increases over the year before with Bihar recording the highest increase from 113 per cent in 2020 to 140 per cent in 2021. At 185 per cent Uttarakhand had the highest average occupancy rates," the report said.

"Nationally, roughly 30 per cent (391 prisons) record occupancy rates of 150 per cent and above, and 54 per cent (709 prisons) run above 100 per cent capacity. More than half of the prisons in 23 states/UTs are overcrowded," the IJR found.

"Illustratively, among the 18 large and mid-sized states, Haryana has the highest share of overcrowded prisons... In Tamil Nadu, 15 of the total 139 prisons show overcrowding beyond 100 per cent and two show an occupancy beyond 150 per cent," the report said.

Among the small states, four of Meghalaya's five prisons are overcrowded, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 14 of 23 of all its prisons running beyond 100 per cent capacity. Goa's single prison, too, was 33 per cent above capacity.

"The increase in prison populations, despite the release of prisoners on temporary bail or emergency parole, may be attributed to two factorsan increase in arrests and the courts not functioning (except for urgent bail hearings)," the IJR highlighted.

This IJR is a collaborative effort undertaken in partnership with DAKSH, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Common Cause, Centre for Social Justice, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and TISSPrayas.

The Model Prison Manual lays down a benchmark of one correctional officer for every 200 prisoners and one psychologist/counsellor for every 500.

To meet the benchmark of one correctional officer for every 200 prisoners, there need to be at least 2,770 sanctioned posts of correctional staff across the country.

"In reality, in 2021, there were only 886 correctional staff against 1,391 sanctioned posts. Nationally, on average, one correctional staff member serves 625 inmates; and vacancies stood at 36 per cent, a slight decrease from 40 per cent in 2020 and 42 per cent in 2019," the report stated.

With the exception of Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh, no other state/UT meets the benchmark of one correctional officer for 200 inmates, it added.

Although the Manual doesn't provide a benchmark, policy documents suggest 33 per cent reservation for women and the report said that as of 2021, no state fulfilled this quota. Nationally, women accounted for only 13.8 per cent of the total staff, a marginal increase from 13.7 per cent in 2020 and 12.8 per cent in 2019, it said.

The report revealed that Karnataka was the only state where women constituted 32 per cent of total prison staff.

"In 17 states/ UTs, the share of women does not cross 10 per cent. Looked at over five years (2017-2021), 21 states/UTs made slow but steady changes with Bihar recording the biggest improvement with 3.26 percentage points among the 18 large and mid-sized states while Uttarakhand showed negative growth," it stated.

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