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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)