Over 64 pc increase in number of convicts in state’s jails in one year: report

The total number of convicts across India in 2022 was 1,33,415, an increase of 8.59 per cent over 2021 when the country had only 1,22,852 convicts.

The state also ranked second highest in release of undertrial prisoners due to acquittals by trial courts at 3,203. Undertrial prisoners are those who are in jail while facing trial for the offences they are charged with, while convicts are those found guilty and serving the sentence awarded to them by courts.

In 2022, Maharashtra had the fourth highest number of total prisoners in the country at 41,070 lodged across its 64 prisons. The official capacity of the prisons in the state is 25,443, making it the second most overcrowded after Delhi.

The prisons in the state continue to be disproportionately represented by undertrials forming 80 per cent of the inmates. The state had the third highest undertrial prisoners at 32,883. Maharashtra was also second only to Uttar Pradesh when it comes to undertrials who are lodged in jail for over five years, awaiting their trials to conclude at 1,825. Officials said that the high number of undertrials denote the high pendency of the trials, apprehension in grant of bail by courts in some cases or inability in accessing legal aid.

The Prison Statistics of India published by the National Crime Records Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs collates data on the basis of information provided by state prisons on various aspects including prison capacity, population, educational qualifications of prisoners, staff, budget. The data collated is that as on December 31, 2022.

The statistics also show that among the convicts more than half at over 52 per cent are those serving life imprisonment. The state also currently has 45 convicts on the death penalty, third highest in the country, including six who were sentenced to death in 2022. The state also had a major increase in the number of convicts who escaped when released on parole.

There were 80 convicts including two women who absconded during parole. In 2021, nine had escaped. This number was higher in 2022 also because there were a large number of prisoners who were granted parole during the Covid-19 pandemic. The statistics said that 40 were rearrested.