The NCRB’s Prison Statistics India (PSI) 2023 Report highlights that India’s correctional facilities are in a chronic state of distress, necessitating urgent governance reforms.
Major Issues in India’s Prison System
- Chronic Overcrowding: National prison occupancy remains critically high at 120.8%.
- Undertrial Crisis: A disproportionately high share of 73.5% undertrial prisoners strains the system, reflecting persistent judicial delays.
- Mental Health & Deaths: Rising cases of unnatural custodial deaths, largely due to suicides, highlight neglect of inmates’ psychological well-being.
- Female Inmates’ Vulnerability:Female Inmates’ Vulnerability: Women (4.1% of inmates) face inadequate gender-sensitive facilities, limited hygiene access, and insufficient medical care.
Initiatives Undertaken for Prison Reforms
- Model Prison and Correctional Services Act, 2023: It marks a paradigm shift from a punitive colonial framework to a reformative, rehabilitative, and rights-based prison system.
- Undertrial Review Committees: District-level bodies, established by the Supreme Court, to review the cases of undertrial prisoners and recommend actions like release or bail.
- E-Prisons Project: A centralized digital platform for prisoner records, improving transparency, monitoring, and efficiency.
- FASTER (Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records) system of Supreme Court.
Way Forward (Recommendations of Justice Amitava Roy Committee)
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