TL;DR India’s prisons are running over capacity, with overcrowding worsening again in recent years despite higher infrastructure investment. A major reason is the growing share of undertrial prisoners, people who haven’t been convicted but remain behind bars for long periods.

Context

India’s prisons have been operating under growing strain, with occupancy levels far exceeding their sanctioned capacity in many states. The issue of overcrowding is a reflection of deeper systemic challenges, such as delays in the judicial process, a high share of undertrial prisoners behind bars, inadequate infrastructure and limited reform-oriented policies. Examining prison occupancy trends not only sheds light on the state of India’s criminal justice system but also raises questions about fairness, human rights, and the balance between punishment and rehabilitation. This story looks at occupancy figures to show where the pressure is greatest and what the data reveals about the state of the country’s prison system.

Who compiles this data?
The primary source of official prison occupancy data in India is the “Prison Statistics India” report, which is compiled annually by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The NCRB collects information from prison departments in all States and Union Territories, including data on the number of inmates, capacity, occupancy rates and other related figures, and then publishes these figures in the annual report.

Where can I download clean & structured data related to prisons in India?

Clean, standardised, and ready-to-use detailed prisons in India datasets are available on Dataful. Dataful has comprehensive collections derived from the Prison Statistics India reports covering prison occupancy, budget and infrastructure, types of prisons, prisoner demography, Indian and foreign prisoners, undertrial populations, and state-wise trends compiled across multiple years.

Key Insights

• As of 31 December 2023, India had 1,332 prisons housing over 5.3 lakh inmates, up 48% from about 3.6 lakh in 2005. Over the same period, prison capacity rose 78%, from around 2.5 lakh to 4.4 lakh. While the number of prisons has barely changed, there has been a sharp rise in both capacity and inmate population.

• India’s prison occupancy fell from around 140% in 2002 to about 112% by 2012, showing some improvement in capacity and management. However, overcrowding rose again, reaching over 130% in 2021 and 2022 before easing slightly to 120.8% in 2023. Male prisons remain far more crowded than female ones, where occupancy has mostly stayed below 100%.

• Some states have been running completely out of space for over two decades. Delhi’s prisons were operating at a massive 331% capacity in 2002, and while things have improved, the occupancy is still at 200.3% in 2023. Uttar Pradesh has also stayed highly crowded, barely moving from 154.3% in 2002 to 150.1% in 2023.

• States like Uttarakhand (from 96.2% to 183.1%), Meghalaya (106.4% to 188.7%), Jammu and Kashmir (82.4% to 148.8%), and Mizoram (87.1% to 141.2%) have witnessed a surge in their occupancy rates.

• Meanwhile, states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh generally stay around or below capacity.

• The vast majority of the prison inmates are undertrials waiting for their trials to finish, and this problem has only grown over the years. Their share, out of the total prison population, rose from 69.2% in 2002 to a peak of 77.1% in 2021. It continues to remain high at 73.5% as of 2023.

Why does it matter?

Persistent overcrowding affects living conditions, access to justice, and rehabilitation efforts. This issue has been addressed in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs’ report on “Prison-Conditions, Infrastructure and Reforms” submitted in 2023. The panel emphasised measures aimed at reducing congestion and improving conditions in prisons. It stated that overcrowding in Indian prisons is a serious concern that undermines safety and rehabilitation, and recommended steps such as transferring inmates from overcrowded jails to ones with available space, improving infrastructure and management practices across States/UTs, and addressing systemic issues like delays in trials that keep undertrial prisoners behind bars for long periods.

Key Numbers

• 2023: 1,332 prisons | 5.3 lakh inmates (↑48% since 2005)
  Capacity ↑ 78% (since 2005), occupancy = 120.8%

• Undertrials = 73.5% (2023) | ↑ from 69.2% (2002)

• Highest Occupancy Rate (2023): Delhi 200%

• Below 100%: Karnataka | Tamil Nadu | Odisha | Telangana | Andhra Pradesh