No of undertrials surges more than 10 per cent in 2 years

The number of undertrials in the state’s prisons is steadily increasing. From 19,331 in 2013; the number rose to 19,985 in 2014; and to 21,667 in 2015. The recent figures are part of the Prisons Statistics India, 2015, released by the National Crime Records Bureau.

According to the data, Maharashtra has a total of 29,567 prisoners lodged in 154 prisons; including nine central prisons, 28 district jails, 18 open jails and 104 other jails. Maharashtra has the third largest number of under-trials, with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar standing first and second with 62,669 and 23,424 under-trials, respectively. Of the 29,657 prisoners in Maharashtra, 7,891 are convicts and 21,667 are under-trials. Of the 21,667 under-trials, 20,716 are men and 951 are women whereas of the 7,891 convicts, 7,506 are men and 385 are women. The statistics also show that there is 12 per cent overcrowding in prisons in Maharashtra. The total capacity of the state's prisons is 26,303 with space for 24,584 men and 1,719 women but data shows that there are 28,321 male and 1,336 female inmates.

Of the total undertrials, prisons for women-only have 194 under-trials; the central prison has 13,756 while the remaining 7,717 undertrials are lodged in various prisons in the state. A majority of the undertrials are in the age group of 18-30 years (8,996 men and 359 women). While the 30 to 50 years age group has 8,679 men and 491 women i.e. a total of 9,170 undertrials.

Experts said while slow judicial proceedings were the main reason, the government needed long-standing measures. “There have been recommendations by the Undertrial Review Committee, which studies the case of under-trials and checks if they can be granted bail,” said Professor Vijay Raghavan, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who works at the Centre for Criminology and Justice. He added one of the reasons for the increase could be more registration of cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and cases of assaults on women.