Delhi has best judge-to-population ratio, spends the most on police training, only one following MHA advisory on number of female cops, shows report

However, the report, which provides a comprehensive look at the capacity of states and union territories to deliver justice, also flags severe overcrowding of jails and the maximum number of undertrials in the prisons in the Capital.

The report, prepared in collaboration with several civil society organisations among others, tracked the performance of states across four areas — police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid.

As per its findings, while Delhi’s police stations on an average had 4.7 woman SIs, it had 41 women constables as of January 2023.

The Capital topped in terms of spending on training per police personnel in the year 2021-22. At Rs 28,614, the city spent more than three times the national average of Rs 8,343.

The report states that Delhi also performed the best in the judge-to-people population with 36 judges for a population of 10 lakh.

“For 1.4 billion people, India has 21,285 judges, or approximately 15 judges per million population. This continues to be significantly below the 1987 law commission’s recommendation of 50 judges per million population,” stated the report.

Among the red flags, the report pointed out that three of Delhi’s 16 jails had an occupancy of 250%, as of January 2023. “Delhi’s prisons have consistently recorded over 170% occupancy rates since 2012. In 2022, 15% of its prisons recorded occupancy rates of over 250%. Occupancy rates in three prisons have consistently been over 250% since 2020,” the report states.

As of 2022, around 90% of the prisoners in Delhi jails were undertrials — the highest in the country. Among the large states, Bihar topped at 89% of the total prisoners being undertrials, followed by Odisha at 85%.

“Each district court judge in Delhi had an average workload of 2,023 cases in 2024, an increase from 1,551 in 2017, and lower than the national average of 2,200. It could achieve a case clearance rate (CCR) of 78% in 2024, one of the lowest in the country. Between 2017 and 2024, Delhi has achieved a 100% CCR only once in 2023,” the report stated.

Delhi, however, tops the charts in terms of spending per inmate as of 2022. “The three highest-spending states were Andhra Pradesh (Rs 733), Haryana (Rs 437), and Delhi (Rs. 407).”

The city recorded 80,809 “E-mulaqats” in 2023 — online meetings between the prisoners and their loved ones or legal advisors.

Delhi, points out the report, is also one of the only states and UTs in the country that meets the benchmark provided in “The Model Prison Manual” of a prisoner-doctor ratio of one doctor for 300 prisoners as of 2022. Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Meghalaya were the only other states which met this benchmark.