Parliament Question: Undertrial prisoners

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4438 ANSWERED ON - 02/04/2026 UNDERTRIAL PRISONERS

4438. SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE:

Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:

(a) the number of undertrial prisoners currently lodged in jails across the country who have been awaiting trial or bail for one to two years, two to five years and more than five years, State/UT-wise;

(b) whether aggregate data on pendency of bail applications across courts is maintained through the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) or any other mechanism and if so, the details of average time taken for disposal of bail applications, category-wise; and

(c) the measures being undertaken by Government to assist courts in reducing prolonged undertrial detention? 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): 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”. As per the latest published data for the year 2023, State/UT wise number of undertrial prisoners confined for one to two years, two to five years and more than five years in the jails of the country as on 31.12.2023 are attached as Annexure - A.

These data are readily available on National Crime Records Bureau website:

https://www.ncrb.gov.in/ uploads/files/PSI-20231.pdf.

(b) and (c): ‘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 has also been supplementing the efforts of State Governments in this regard.

(1)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. For implementation of the Scheme, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had provided an annual financial outlay of Rs. 20 crore for three financial years i.e. 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Further, 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. The numbers of undertrial prisoners recommended

by UTRCs and released during last three years are as under:

Year No. of UTPs/ Convicts No. of inmates released recommended for bail/ pursuant to UTRCs release recommendations 2023 73,274 34,232 2024 53,594 25,982 2025 40,434 22,523 Total 1,67,302 82,737 In addition to the above, Government has taken initiatives to operationalize bail reforms for reducing the number of undertrial prisoners in the country. 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.” The Proviso under Section 479 (1) of the BNSS provides further relief to first time offenders/undertrial prisoners and provides that “where such person is a first-time offender (who has never been convicted of any offence in the past), he shall be released on bond by the Court, if he has undergone detention for the period extending up to one-third of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for such offence under that law”.

Data on pendency of bail applications and its disposal across courts is not maintained through the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG). *****

(2)ANNEXURE-A STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.

4438 FOR ANSWER ON 02.04.2026 REGARDING ‘UNDERTRIAL PRISONERS’.

The details of State/UT wise number of Undertrial Prisoners with duration of Confinement as on 31st December, 2023 Sl. No. State/UT 1 to 2 Years 2 to 5 Years Above 5 Years 1 Andman & Nicobar Islands 6 25 2 2 Andhra Pradesh 208 146 3 3 Arunachal Pradesh 25 20 3 4 Assam 682 561 147 5 Bihar 4,446 3,549 296 6 Chandigarh 112 70 9 7 Chhattisgarh 2,265 1,354 44 8 Delhi 2,503 2,442 497 9 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 23 40 10 10 Goa 99 172 22 11 Gujarat 1,712 1,870 464 12 Haryana 2,742 2,264 416 13 Himachal Pradesh 291 364 57 14 Jammu & Kashmir 827 1,388 275 15 Jharkhand 1,944 2,002 481 16 Karnataka 1,834 1,674 226 17 Kerala 248 100 8 18 Ladakh 12 7 2 19 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 20 Madhya Pradesh 3,573 2,735 115 21 Maharashtra 4,978 7,436 2,213 22 Manipur 107 37 18 23 Meghalaya 110 131 24 24 Mizoram 200 42 0 25 Nagaland 43 24 12 26 Odisha 1,963 1,961 414 27 Puducherry 43 21 0 28 Punjab 5,076 3,518 183 29 Rajasthan 2,520 3,025 464 30 Sikkim 35 21 0 31 Tamil Nadu 999 392 46 32 Telangana 141 82 9 33 Tripura 39 5 0 34 Uttar Pradesh 10,283 12,003 2,639 35 Uttarakhand 672 763 48 36 West Bengal 3,894 4,363 1,245 Total 54,655 54,607 10,392

(3)