Parliament Question: Measures for Bail without Sureties

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3319 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 07TH AUGUST, 2026 MEASURES FOR BAIL WITHOUT SURETIES †3319. SHRI RAJKUMAR ROAT: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the number of persons currently imprisoned in jails under judicial orders in the country, State-wise and category-wise, along with the district-wise and category-wise details thereof in respect of Rajasthan; (b) the number of such cases reported where individuals continue to remain detained in jails despite being granted bail, solely due to non-depositing of security in the country, State-wise, along with the district-wise and category-wise details thereof in respect of Rajasthan; (c) the number of persons belonging to the Scheduled Tribes who remain detained in jails despite being granted bail due to non-depositing of security, State-wise and name-wise along with the nature of offenses for which they are detained; (d) whether the Government proposes to grant security-free bail to poors who are unable to deposit security after being granted bail keeping in view of the said problem; and (e) if so, the time by which this proposal is likely to be implemented and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL) (a) to (c): As per the latest data (as on 31.12.2024) provided by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, with respect to number of persons imprisoned in jails in the Country, State/Category-wise, including Rajasthan is at Annexure-A. District-wise data is not maintained by the NCRB. As per information provided by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), the State-wise details, including Rajasthan, of individuals (Under Trial Prisoners), who remain detained in the jails because of non-furnishing of securities as on 30.06.2026 is at 1Annexure-B. District-wise and category-wise details are not maintained by NALSA. Further, separate information with respect to Scheduled Tribes is not maintained either by NALSA or NCRB. (d) and (e): ‘Prisons and Prisoners’ is a State-list subject under Entry 4 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Therefore, the administration and management of prisons and prisoners is the responsibility of respective State Governments. Central Government supplements the efforts of State Governments in this regard. Several initiatives are undertaken by the Central Government to operationalize bail reforms. Section 479 (1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) provides that “Where a person has, during the period of investigation, inquiry or trial under this Sanhita of an offence under any law (not being an offence for which the punishment of death or life imprisonment has been specified as one of the punishments under that law) undergone detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence under that law, he shall be released by the Court on bail.” Further, technology based alerts are generated through the ePrisons portal under Inter- Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) and are sent to concerned officials for taking appropriate action for timely release of undertrial prisoners. With the objective of providing financial assistance to poor prisoners, who are unable to pay the fine imposed on them or are unable to secure bail due to financial constraints, the Government is implementing a scheme named “Support to Poor Prisoners”. The guidelines and SOP for implementation of the Scheme, has provision for bail assistance amounting upto Rs. 1 lakh, prescribing timelines for case processing, and simplification of procedures for drawal and utilisation of funds. National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has taken initiatives for establishment of Under Trial Review Committees (UTRCs) in all the districts to recommend for release of eligible undertrial prisoners and convicts. Quarterly meetings are held by UTRCs across the country. ***** 2Annexure –A Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3319 for answer on 07.08.2026 regarding ‘Measures for Bail without Sureties’ State/UT-wise Types of Prison Inmates as on 31.12.2024 Sl. State/UT Convicts Undertrials Detenues Others Total No. 1 Andhra Pradesh 2,131 5,705 10 15 7,861 2 Arunachal Pradesh 226 242 0 0 468 3 Assam 3,500 8,144 13 17 11,674 4 Bihar 6,648 45,339 0 3 51,990 5 Chhattisgarh 6,313 12,478 5 2 18,798 6 Goa 95 519 1 0 615 7 Gujarat 5,231 12,286 249 0 17,766 8 Haryana 5,693 19,015 48 0 24,756 9 Himachal Pradesh 1,042 1,942 0 0 2984 10 Jharkhand 4,943 11,232 26 0 16,201 11 Karnataka 3,491 10,908 24 27 14,450 12 Kerala 3,944 6,148 215 0 10,307 13 Madhya Pradesh 21,760 23,132 92 108 45,092 14 Maharashtra 7,066 31,523 414 0 39,003 15 Manipur 121 326 3 0 450 16 Meghalaya 464 918 0 24 1,406 17 Mizoram 639 917 0 0 1,556 18 Nagaland 125 363 26 0 514 19 Odisha 3,736 12,879 1 1 16,617 20 Punjab 6,695 23,922 2 44 30,663 21 Rajasthan 6,086 18,176 7 41 24,310 22 Sikkim 151 151 0 0 302 23 Tamil Nadu 6,007 13,274 1,117 2 20,400 24 Telangana 1,767 5,002 13 0 6,782 25 Tripura 489 1,261 8 3 1,761 26 Uttar Pradesh 27,474 59,194 94 0 86,762 27 Uttarakhand 2,292 3,256 0 0 5,548 28 West Bengal # 4,941 20,294 1 538 25,774 29 A & N Islands 227 168 0 0 395 30 Chandigarh 329 610 0 0 939 31 Dadar Nagar Haveli & 3 111 0 0 114 Daman Diu 32 DELHI 2,232 17,178 12 90 19,512 33 Jammu & Kashmir 170 4,552 660 1 5,383 34 Ladakh 3 41 7 0 51 35 Lakshadweep 0 5 0 0 5 36 Puducherry 104 229 0 0 333 Total (All India) 1,36,138 3,71,440 3,048 916 5,11,542 · As per data provided by States/UTs. # Due to non-receipt of data from West Bengal for 2024, data furnished for 2023 has been used. 3Annexure - B Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3319 for answer on 07.08.2026 regarding ‘Measures for Bail without Sureties’ State-wise number of Undertrial Prisoners granted bail by the court, but have not been able to furnish sureties during the period from January, 2026 to June, 2026. Total Number of Total Number of S. No. State Prisoners Prisoners Recommended Released 1 Andaman and Nicobar 0 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 91 58 3 Arunachal Pradesh 27 6 4 Assam 477 299 5 Bihar 18 15 6 Chandigarh 14 9 7 Chhattisgarh 38 35 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 0 0 8 Daman & Diu 0 0 9 Delhi 186 117 10 Goa 34 7 11 Gujarat 518 452 12 Haryana 95 86 13 Himachal Pradesh 21 19 14 J & K 52 24 15 Jharkhand 118 107 16 Karnataka 93 47 17 Kerala 234 109 18 Ladakh 0 0 19 Lakshadweep 0 0 20 Madhya Pradesh 104 90 21 Maharashtra 1,082 567 22 Manipur 73 13 23 Meghalaya 73 23 24 Mizoram 16 1 25 Nagaland 15 0 26 Odisha 376 171 27 Puducherry 9 9 28 Punjab 774 564 29 Rajasthan 196 140 30 Sikkim 7 5 31 Tamil Nadu 555 262 32 Telangana 311 104 33 Tripura 36 16 34 Uttar Pradesh 819 777 35 Uttarakhand 30 28 36 West Bengal 158 119 TOTAL 6,650 4,279 4