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State/UT wise Prisons Response to COVID 19 Pandemic in India

Indian prisons with their crowded spaces and inadequate healthcare facilities are at high risk of becoming epicentres for the spread of COVID-19. The Supreme Court of India in its order dated 23-03-20 directed measures to all states and UTs for reducing overcrowding in prisons. This order was passed in the light of the spread of the COVID 19 Pandemic, which has 101261 active cases in India as on 19-05-2020. The court directed states/ UTs to constitute a High Powered Committee to determine the categories of prisoners to be released on interim bail/ parole or furlough to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

The Court suggested the following categories for consideration of release.

1. Prisoners who are convicted/undertrial for one offence for which the sentence is upto seven years.

2. Any categories identified by the High Powered Committee on the basis of the nature of offence, duration of the sentence and severity of the offence.

CHRI has been tracking orders issued by the HPCs across states, categories of prisoners identified for release and the estimated vs actual number of releases across the country. On May 19, 2020 we also started tracking the number of positive cases in Indian Prisons.

We continue to update the both tables given below every week. The data as on 19-05-2020, is given below:

Table A: Number of COVID-19 cases detected inside Indian Prisons^

Name of State

Number of COVID-19 cases in prisons (Inmates and staff)

Delhi

17

Haryana

2

Madhya Pradesh

19

Maharashtra

180 + 10 + 9

Odisha

1

Punjab

1

Rajasthan

125

Uttar Pradesh

10

Gujarat

14

Total

388

^Note: The numbers depicted are from media reports. The number represents COVID-19 positive cases of both prison staff and inmates inside prisons.

Table B: Number of Prisoners Released*

Name of State

Total No. of Prisons and Prison Population*

Occupancy Rate*

Categories of prisoners identified for release by the High Powered Committee

Release and Change in Occupancy Rate

Estimates for release of prisoners reported

Actual number of prisoners released

Change in Occupancy Rate

(E= Estimate)

(A= Actual)

Andhra Pradesh

6988 prisoners in 105 prisons

79.5%

Prisoners who are under trial or convicted of offences for which the punishment is not more than 7 years, except (Read More):

  • Prisoners/ Undertrial accused of more than one case.
  • Not accused in case under Section 376 (Rape) or provisions of the POCSO Act.
  • Prisoners/ Undertrials diagnosed with autoimmune diseases

1350

467

15.4% (E)

5.3% (A)

Arunachal Pradesh

245 prisoners in 2 prisons

105.2%

In compliance with the order of the Supreme Court dated 23-03-2020. (Read More) The categories to be determined on:

  • Nature of offence
  • Duration of sentence
  • Previous criminal record
  • Any other relevant factors

No Information (N.I)

56

19.7% (A)

Assam

8282 prisoners in 31 prisons

93.2%

In compliance with the order of the Supreme Court dated 23-03-2020. (Read More)

N.I

722

8.1% (A)

Bihar

38685 prisoners in 58 prisons

93.3%

In compliance with the order of the Supreme Court dated 23-03-2020. (Read More)

0

413

1% (A)

Chattisgarh

18494 prisoners in 33 prisons

153.3%
  • Serving or undertrial for a sentence less than 7 years.
  • In prison for more than 3 months and is a resident of Chattisgarh. (Read More)

2368

1981

19.6% (A)

16.4% (A)

Goa

435 prisoners in 1 prison

69.7%
  • undertrials and convicts who are accused or convicted of offences with punishment upto or less than seven years, except people charged under special laws.
  • The undertrial review committee shall undertake the responsibility of release of untertrials on parole.
  • Extend the parole of convicts who are already out on parole suitably. (Read More)

18

46

2.9% (E)

7.4% (A)

Gujarat

14980 prisoners in 29 prisons

112.3%

N.I

1200

N.I

9.0% (E)

Haryana

19270 prisoners in 19 prisons

104.3%
  • All prisoners above the age of 65, except those involved in multiple crimes, will be granted a 6 week special parole. This would not apply to people booked under special laws such as NDPS, POCSO etc.
  • All prisoners convicted of crimes punishable upto seven years will be considered for parole of 6 weeks, extendable to 8 weeks.
  • Undertrials accused of maximum two offences in which punishment is upto two years will be considered for a 45 day interim bail, extendable upto 60 days. (Read More)

3000

4940

16.2% (E)

26.7% (A)

Himachal Pradesh

2254 prisoners in 14 prisons

103.5%

N.I

N.I

92

4.2% (A)

Jharkhand

20629 prisoners in 30 prisons

128.2%

N.I

N.I

869

5.4% (A)

Karnataka

13944 prisoners in 104 prisons

101.7%

Prisoners serving sentences for offences punishable upto seven years or less. Also prisoners who have not been awarded the maximum punishment for the offences convicted for. Except those imprisoned for:

  • Money Laundering
  • Drug trafficking
  • Terrorism
  • Unlawful activities (Read More)

1379

1112

10.1% (E)

8.1% (A)

Kerala

7638 prisoners in 55 prisons

112.2%

All prisoners (Remand and Undertrials) accused in only one offence punishable upto seven years, except:

  • Prisoners having criminal antecedents
  • Habitual Offenders
  • Previous convictions
  • Remand/Undertrials in more than one offence (Read More)

1000

1831

14.7% (E)

26.9% (A)

Madhya Pradesh

42057 prisoners in 130 prisons

147.0%

Undertrials who have been in prison for a period of more than five years. (Read More)

12000

6589

42% (E)

23% (A)

Maharashtra

35884 prisoners in 64 prisons

148.9%

N.I

17619

3417

50% (E)

14.2% (A)

Manipur

920 prisoners in 5 prisons

72.3%

N.I

N.I

181

14.2% (A)

Meghalaya

933 prisoners in 5 prisons

143.5%

N.I

174

94

26.8% (E)

14.5% (A)

Mizoram

1677 prisoners in 10 prisons

104.7%

N.I

338

287

21.1% (E)

17.9% (A)

Nagaland

442 prisoners in 11 prisons

30.5%

N.I

N.I

72

5% (A)

Odisha

16501 prisoners in 91 prisons

86.1%

All convicts in prisons who:

  • Are not undertrial in any other cases and are serving a sentence of seven years or less with or without fine. Convicts who have one or more undertrial cases but are on bail on all of them, and have availed at least on parole peacefully.
  • Are 65 years of age or above except those convicted under POCSO, NDPS, Rape, Sexual Offences, Acid Attacks or foreign nationals. (Read More)

1727

955

9.0% (E)

5.0% (A)

Punjab

22486 prisoners in 24 prisons

95.7%

N.I

6000

7177

25.5% (E)

30.6% (A)

Rajasthan

20134 prisoners in 130 prisons

92.0%

N.I

N.I

5763

26.3 % (A)

Sikkim

387 prisoners in 2 prisons

157.3%

N.I

N.I

N.I

N.I

Tamil Nadu

13674 prisoners in 138 prisons

60.0%

N.I

N.I

4573

20.1% (A)

Telangana

5550 prisoners in 49 prisons

77.1%

N.I

N.I

N.I

N.I

Tripura

1042 prisoners in 13 prisons

47.9%

N.I

557

28

25.6% (E)

1.3% (A)

Uttar Pradesh

104011 prisoners in 71 prisons

176.5%

N.I

11000

12055

18.7% (E)

20.5% (A)

Uttarakhand

5311 in 11 prisons

150.0%

N.I

855

667

24.2% (E)

18.8% (A)

West Bengal

23092 prisoners in 59 prisons

106.1%

All prisoners convicted of a sentence of upto 7 years, irrespective of the maximum sentence prescribed in the offence, except:

  • Offences under POCSO, Violence against Women, Rape, Acid attacks etc.
  • Rioting and waging war against state
  • Offences relating to anti-corruption
  • Commercial and economic offences
  • Offences under Gangsters Act
  • Offences under NDPS Act. (Read More)

3076

2209

14.1% (E)

10.1% (A)

Union Territories

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

184 prisoners in 4 prisons

59.5%

 

 N.I

N.I

N.I

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

39 prisoners in 1 prison

55.7%

 

0

1

2.56% (A)

Daman and Diu

59 prisoners in 1 prison

98.3%

 

0

0

0

Delhi

15468 prisoners in 16 prisons

154.3%

On personal bond, undertrial prisoners and convicts who have been accused/convicted in offences punishable below 7 years.

3000

3573

29.9 % (E)

35.6% (A)

Chandigarh

1035 prisoners in 1 prison

92.4%

 

N.I

545

48.7% (A)

Jammu and Kashmir

3085 prisoners in 14 prisons

116.0%

All prisoners who are convicted in one offence and have already served a term of 10 years (8 years for women), except:

  • Offences of Intermediate of or large quantity recovery under NDPS Act.
  • Offences under POCSO Act.
  • Offences amounting to violence against women including acid attack.
  • Foreign National Prisoners. (Read More)

N.I

235

8.8 % (A)

Ladakh

N.I

N.I

 

N.I

N.I

N.I

Lakshwadeep

1 prisoner in 4 prisons

1.6%

 

N.I

N.I

N.I

Puducherry

268 prisoners in 4 prisons

64.4%

 

0

0

0

Total

466084 prisoners

117.6%

 

66,661

61,100

16.8% (E)

15.4% (A)

*The prison capacities, population and occupancy rate are as depicted in Prison Statistics India 2018. Though ideally the latest occupancy would be calculated, this data is not uniformly available in the public domain. Data for Jammu and Kashmir has been taken from the Prison Statistics India 2018 when Jammu and Kashmir was still a State.

Note: The data depicted in the above table has been collated from information available in media reports, most of which have been hyperlinked for reference. The base numbers for prison population, occupancy rate etc. have been adopted from Prison Statistics India, 2018, and hence might not depict present occupancy. Similarly, the prison occupancy depicted here does not take into account the real time daily new admissions in prisons. However, in case of any discrepancy in the numbers, we would request you to kindly reach out to us regarding the same at chriprisonsprog@gmail.com. We will update the table upon receiving any corrections.