Prisons in India
Thus, the states have the primary role, responsibility and authority to change the current prison laws, rules and regulations.
The Supreme Court of India, in its judgements on various aspects of prison administration, has laid down 3 broad principles regarding imprisonment and custody.
[7] Delhi has the highest number of 16 Central Jails followed by Madhya Pradesh having 11, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu with 9 each.
States which have considerable number of District Jails are Uttar Pradesh(57), Madhya Pradesh(39), Bihar(31), Maharashtra(28), Rajasthan(24), Assam (22), Karnataka (19), Jharkhand (17) and Haryana (16), Gujarat (11), Kerala (11), West Bengal (12), Chhattisgarh (11), Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland (10 each).
9 states have reported comparatively higher number of sub-jails revealing a well-organized prison set-up even at lower formation.
[11] 7 states or union territories have no sub-jails, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Chandigarh and Delhi.
[7] P. T. Chacko Home minister of Kerala Introduced First Open Jail In India Nettukaltheri Near Neyyar Trivandrum on 28 August 1962.
[citation needed] Seventeen states have functioning open jails in their jurisdiction.
Provision for keeping female prisoners in these special jails is available in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, Assam, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
[12] Borstal Schools are a type of youth detention centre and are used exclusively for the imprisonment of minors or juveniles.
The primary objective of Borstal Schools is to ensure care, welfare and rehabilitation of young offenders in an environment suitable for children and keep them away from contaminating atmosphere of the prison.
[7] The emphasis is given on the education, training and moral influence conducive for their reformation and prevention of crime.
Nine States namely, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have borstal schools in their respective jurisdictions.
[13] Himachal Pradesh and Kerala are the only states that have the capacity to lodge female inmates in 2 of their Borstal Schools.
[7] The capacity of inmates (both male and female) reported by these three States in such jails was highest in Karnataka (250) followed by Kerala (142), Goa (45) and Maharashtra (28).
[14] All states and union territories in India had a combined sanctioned budget of ₹7,692 crore (US$890 million) in 2021–22, an increase of 13% over the previous fiscal, for prison related expenditure.
Expenditure made for meeting day-to-day expenses and running establishments like payment of salaries, wages, rent, etc.
Non-Plan Expenditure may also include activities for development of existing infrastructure and bringing about improvements in the prisons.
Expenditure on prison inmates is categorised as Food, Clothing, Medical, Vocational/Educational facilities, Welfare and Other expenses.
[7] The National Crime Records Bureau data from 2019 shows that Muslims, Dalits and Tribal prisoners in India are disproportionate to their share in the Indian population.
Prison inmates lodged in Indian jails are categorised as convicts, undertrials and detenues.
A detenue is any person detained in prison on the orders of the competent authority under the relevant preventive laws.
[22] The following table shows number and percentage of convict prisoners by the duration of their sentences as on 31 December 2016.
Prison condition in India are bad and unhealthy as they are “frequently life threatening” and do not meet international standards.
[25] Prison lacks so much funding that in some areas occupancy level is as high as 277%;[26] almost three times the permitted capacity.
[30] It contributes to high detainees population since there are less officials for accused prisoners to accompany them to court.
