Issues Related to Prisons & Prison Reforms – Explained Pointwise

Recently, the National Crime Records Bureau released the Prison Statistics India (PSI) 2024 report, providing a comprehensive overview of the country’s prison administration, inmate population, infrastructure, and correctional systems. The report indicates a marginal improvement in prison overcrowding, with the national occupancy rate declining from 120.8% in 2023 to 112.7% in 2024. However, it also highlights persistent challenges such as a high proportion of undertrial prisoners, staff shortages, and inadequate correctional facilities, underscoring the need for deeper judicial and prison reforms in India.

What are the issues associated with Prisons in India?

1. Overcrowding: Although the occupancy rate in Indian prisons has declined to 112%, according to the latest Prison Statistics Report, overcrowding continues to remain a persistent challenge. Till 2021, the occupancy rate of prisons stood at 130% in 2021. More than half of the States/UTs had an occupancy rate of over 100% in 2024 despite a modest increase in capacity. A Parliamentary Committee report, titled ‘Prison– Conditions, Infrastructure and Reforms’, noted that overcrowding strains resources, compromises living standards, increases tensions among inmates and limits their access to healthcare and rehabilitation facilities.

Source: The Hindu

2. Rising Undertrials: The number of undertrials in prisons has reached 73% in 2024. The proportion has consistently increased from 64% in 2011 to 73% in 2024. On the other hand, the share of convicts in prisons reduced from about 32% in 2016 to 26.6% in 2024. Prolonged incarceration without trial is violative of basic rights.

Rising proportion of undertrials is a major factor in overcrowding of prisons. Moreover, as highlighted by the NCRB data, people from disadvantaged sections have higher proportion in jails compared to more affluent sections. Legislations such as the Habitual Offenders Act and Beggary Laws allow the police to target SCs/STs for reported crimes.

3. Mistreatment and Torture: The prisoners, including undertrials, are forced to do hard work without pay or for very meagre compensation against the law. Many prisoners are subjected to torture. The cases of deaths while in custody are also increasing. Women inmates face harassment. Instances of custodial violence, physical abuse, and corruption by jail authorities remain a significant human rights concern.

3. Shortage of Staff: There is a massive gap between the sanctioned strength and the actual number of prison staff (including jailors, guards, and medical personnel), often leaving jails heavily understaffed. According to one estimate, ~33% of of the total requirement for jail authorities remains unfilled. The number of prison staff to prisoners is about 1:7. (i.e., one prison officer for every 7 prisoners). In the UK, there are 2 prison officers for every 3 prisoners. Without enough prison staff, overcrowding in the prisons leads to incidence of violence and other illegal activities.

4. Poor Hygiene: Most prisons tend to be dirty and unhygienic. There is lack of adequate medical facilities. Women inmates face further challenge due to poor hygiene and lack of adequate facilities. Overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells create a breeding ground for infectious diseases like tuberculosis, skin infections, and water-borne illnesses.

5. Psychological Issues & Mental Health Crisis: Prolonged incarceration without trial can lead to depression in undertrials. Convicts lodged in overcrowded cells may suffer from panic attacks, stress, anxiety and claustrophobia among others. The psychological toll of isolation, combined with a lack of recreational or counseling avenues, leads to high rates of depression and anxiety. Suicides remain the leading cause of unnatural deaths inside Indian prisons.

6. Inter-gang Rivalries and Violence: Due to the inability to properly segregate hardened, habitual criminals from first-time or petty offenders, violent clashes, extortion, and radicalization occur within prison walls.

7. Lack of Reformative and Rehabilitation Focus: The ultimate goal of modern penal systems is to reintegrate individuals into society, but Indian prisons often fail at this. Without proper societal reintegration frameworks, released prisoners often face intense stigma, leading to joblessness and a high risk of recidivism (falling back into crime).

What has been the Judicial view regarding Prison Reforms?

The Higher Judiciary has played a significant role in ensuring safety and security of the inmates and the people in custody.

What are the challenges to Prison Reforms?

1. State Subject: Prisons are a state subject, this creates difficulty in having uniform prison management. The Union Government can only frame models for the States to incorporate and help in coordinating between States, encouraging them to adopt best practices. However, ultimately it is the obligation of State Governments to undertake the reforms. Because prison reform does not carry significant political weight or electoral value, states often deprioritize it, leading to highly uneven progress across the country.
2. Low Budget Allocation: Budgetary allocations for prisons are among the lowest within the state home departments, with the lion’s share of the existing budget spent purely on basic food, staff salaries, and essential security infrastructure.
3. Punishment over Reformation: Prisons in India are still governed by the Prisons Act, 1894. It is a colonial legislation which treats prisoners as sub-par citizens, and provides the legal basis for punishment to be retributive, rather than rehabilitative. Also, the administrative machinery and the public largely view prisons through a lens of retribution (punishing the wrongdoer) rather than restoration (reforming the individual).
4. Colonial Subculture: Much of the lower-level prison staff is trained under a culture of strict control, hierarchy, and subordination dating back to the 19th century. Shifting this mindset toward empathy and rehabilitation requires massive re-training, which is rarely undertaken.
5. Failure of Legal Aid: Although Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act guarantees free legal aid to prisoners, the quality of state-appointed legal defense is often very poor. Many public defenders rarely visit jails to meet their clients, leaving poor undertrials languishing indefinitely.
6. Lack of Transparency: Civil society organizations, independent journalists, and human rights activists face heavy bureaucratic red tape when trying to access prisons to audit conditions, monitor custodial violence, or assess reform programs.

What are the various Committees and Recommendations regarding Prison Reforms?

What should be the approach to Prison Reforms going ahead?

1. Addressing the Root Cause: Overcrowding and De-congestion: Jails cannot be reformed if they are physically overwhelmed. The focus must shift from managing overcrowded spaces to actively reducing the inmate population:
   1. Strict Implementation of the Arnesh Kumar Guidelines: Police forces must be strictly penalized for conducting arbitrary, routine arrests for offenses carrying sentences under 7 years.
   2. Institutionalizing Section 436A of the CrPC/BNSS: Undertrials who have served half of their maximum potential prison term must be released automatically on personal bonds. Modern jail management software should be programmed to flag these cases automatically to State Legal Services Authorities (SLSA).
   3. Expanding Open and Semi-Open Prisons: Rajasthan’s successful model of open prisons—where well-behaved convicts live with their families and work in the community—should be scaled across every state. This significantly reduces the fiscal burden on the state and practically eliminates recidivism.
2. Adopting the Model Prisons Act, 2023 across States: Since “Prisons” is a State subject, the central government must incentivize states to adopt the Model Prisons Act, 2023 to replace the archaic 1894 legislation. The Center should tie modernization grants and police-funding allocations directly to a state’s progress in updating its State Prison Manual.
3. Universalizing Legal Aid: The inability to navigate the legal system keeps thousands of poor citizens trapped in jail. Legal counsel should be made available at the very first stage of production before a magistrate, ensuring that bail applications are moved immediately for petty or first-time offenders.
4. Smart Security: Utilizing advanced biometric tracking, AI-driven CCTV surveillance, and non-bypassable mobile phone jammers will neutralize internal gang networks and reduce corruption without requiring a massive influx of physical guards.
5. Market-Relevant Vocational Training: Prisons should move away from traditional, low-skill crafts (like weaving or basic carpentry) and partner with private industries or NGOs to provide certified training in digital literacy, mechanics, hospitality, or advanced agriculture.
6. Adopting Global Standards: The UN’s Nelson Mandela Rules are serving as a blueprint, emphasizing the inherent dignity of prisoners. Training programs for prison staff on these rules are being conducted across states, focusing on ethical custodial practices and mental health support.

Conclusion:

The status of prisons in India remains dismal on multiple counts. The Supreme Court has pronounced some progressive judgments on the issue of rights of prisoners. Multiple committees have provided some effective recommendations to undertake prison reforms. However, the lack of political will by Union and State Governments has stalled the process. While Judiciary can also a play a role in reducing the number of undertrials, broad prison reforms have to be undertaken by the Governments. The trend of rising proportion of undertrials and overcrowding of prisons indicate that the process of reforms can no longer be delayed.