Union Ministry of Home Affairs has said in Lok Sabha that over 5.5 lakh prisoners are lodged in Indian jails against a prisoner lodging capacity of 4.4 lakh, as per the latest data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
In reply to a question by Congress MP from Assam Abdul Khalique, Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra said, "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'. The latest published report is of the year 2021."
As per the data given by the government citing the NCRB report, the total number of prisoners lodged in jails across India as on December 31, 2021 was 5,54,034 against the jail capacity of 4,25,069.
In the state of Uttar Pradesh, the actual number of prisoners in jail stood at a whopping 1,17,789 against a capacity of 63,751. Bihar prisons have a capacity of 47,750 inmates, however, the number lodged stands at 66,879.
In Madhya Pradesh, 48,513 prisoners are in jail against the capacity of 49,571 as the maximum capacity. Delhi has 18,295 inmates against its capacity of 10,026.
The Barpeta MP further asked if the govt had any data about the number of criminals staying in jails without conviction beyond the maximum term for the crime committed by them.
Mishra said that no such specific information was available with NCRB. The govt also responded to a question on the number of inmates over staying in jail post-completion of their jail term saying that as per the data available as on December 31, 2021, there were 1,410 convicts lodged in the jails of the country due to non-payment of the fine amount after completion of their sentence.
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