{"id":9299,"date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/04-05-2022\/ncrb-report-on-prison-inmates\/"},"modified":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","slug":"ncrb-report-on-prison-inmates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/04-05-2022\/ncrb-report-on-prison-inmates","title":{"rendered":"NCRB Report on Prison Inmates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>In Context\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">According to the latest available data compiled by <strong>the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2020<\/strong>, <strong>about 76%<\/strong> of <strong>all prison inmates<\/strong> in the country were undertrials, of which about<strong> 68% were either illiterate or school dropouts.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Major Findings of Report\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Of the total 4,88,511 prison inmates, 3,71,848 were found to be undertrials.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Among the undertrials, about <strong>20% were Muslim<\/strong>s, while about<strong> 73% were Dalits, tribals or OBCs.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Muslims form 14% of India\u2019s population<\/strong>, they accounted for about 2<strong>0% of the total undertrials<\/strong> and <strong>17% of all convicts.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Dalits, who form 16.6% <\/strong>of India\u2019s population, accounted for about 21% of all undertrials and 21% of all convicts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Tribals, who form 8.6%<\/strong> of India\u2019s population, accounted for about 10% of all undertrials and 14% of all convicts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>OBCs, who form 41%<\/strong> of the total population (NSSO data), accounted for about<strong> 42% of the total undertrials and 37% of all convicts.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">According to the data, about <strong>30% of all undertrials remain<\/strong> in jail for over a year while<strong> 65% don\u2019t get released before three month<\/strong>s.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">About <strong>50% of all undertrials<\/strong> were charged with \u201coffences against human body\u201d, which includes crimes like murder, attempt to murder, rape, dowry deaths, kidnapping and assault among others.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>About 20% were charged with \u201coffences against property<\/strong>\u201d, which includes crimes like theft, burglary and housebreaking among others.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>State-wise data\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir (J&#038;K)<\/strong> were found to have the highest ratio of undertrials in jails at <strong>91%<\/strong>, followed by <strong>Bihar and Punjab at 85%, <\/strong>and <strong>Odisha at 83% .<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/mr60bUeU7sNUKezynBNU9fpKZ6k5fn52Ouvr4r02zXY21BLXjhVDOzZkE5t2GqoNoGZgY32C3gL5NFaEX4fAWUd8D3LgWLEogCm9SGF0-4fT-XI00VriFS2EpWz3Q6nP2HD8nZ9EWDQufTDZnw\" style=\"height:311px; width:301px\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; table-layout:fixed; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#fff2cc; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>About Prisons&#8217;\/&#8217;Persons<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Prisons&#8217;\/&#8217;persons detained therein&#8217; is a State subject under <strong>Entry 4 of List II of the Seventh<\/strong> Schedule to the Constitution of India.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The administration and management of prisons are the responsibility of respective <strong>State Governments.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">However, the Ministry of Home Affairs provides regular guidance and advice to States and UTs on various issues concerning prisons and prison inmates.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Right to Life and Personal Liberty For Prisoners\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The Supreme Court in various cases has declared the right to medical care comes under the ambit of <strong>Article 21 of the Constitution<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Article 21 of the Constitution<\/strong> guarantees the right of personal liberty and thereby prohibits any inhuman, cruel or degrading treatments to any person whether he is a national or foreigner.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Article 39A of the Constitution of India<\/strong> deals with the obligation of the State to provide free Legal Aid to such accused prisoners both in the prison and outside, as they are unable to engage a lawyer due to a lack of means to defend themselves in the Court for the criminal charges brought against them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Other Issues faced by prisoners\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Overcrowding<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Prolonged detention of under-trial prisoners<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">A poor man remains in jail for over a year without trial for minor offences such as theft<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Unsatisfactory living conditions<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Lack of treatment Programs\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The allegations of the indifferent and even inhuman approaches of prison staff have repeatedly attracted the attention of the critics over the years.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Many inmates <strong>can\u2019t even afford the bail amount<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Recommendations of Various Committees\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Recommendations of Law Commission of India in its 268th report: <\/strong>The Commission recommended that those detained for offences that come with a punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment should be released on completing one-third of that period and for those <strong>charged with offences that attract a longer jail term after they complete half of that period.<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It also recommended that the<strong> police should avoid needless arrests<\/strong>, while <strong>magistrates should refrain from mechanical<\/strong> remand orders.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Open prisons Concept: <\/strong>The <strong>All-India Committee on Jail Reform constituted in 1980<\/strong> recommended the government to set up and develop open prisons in each state and UT similar to the Sanganer open camp in\u00a0 Rajasthan\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It also recommended that life convicts who offer a good prognosis should be transferred to<strong> semi-open &#038; open prisons.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Justice Amitava Roy Committee Recommendations: <\/strong>In 2018 The Supreme Court constituted a three-member committee, to be headed by former apex court <strong>judge Amitava Roy<\/strong>, to look into the aspect of jail reforms across the country and make recommendations on several aspects, including overcrowding in prisons.it recommended\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Special fast-track courts<\/strong> should be set up to<strong> deal exclusively with petty<\/strong> <strong>offences <\/strong>which have been pending for more than five years.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Further, accused persons who are charged with petty offences and granted bail, but who are unable to arrange surety should be released on <strong>a Personal Recognizance (PR) Bond.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Launching a National Mission<\/strong> for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">In <strong>1980, a Committee on Jail Reform<\/strong>, under the chairmanship of Justice AN. Mulla was constituted to review the <strong>laws, rules and regulations <\/strong>keeping in view the overall objective of protecting society and rehabilitating offenders.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The lodging of undertrials in jail should be reduced to the bare minimum and they <strong>should be kept separate from the convicted prisoners<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Since under trials constitute a sizable portion of the prison population, their number can be reduced by speedy trials and liberalisation of bail provisions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Way Forward<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is <strong>imperative for authoritie<\/strong>s to determine the <strong>urgent interventions<\/strong> necessary for safeguarding the <strong>fundamental right to life of prisoners<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">These measures must include <strong>decongestion,<\/strong> whether by setting up <strong>temporary prisons if feasible<\/strong> or by issuing new criteria for releasing prisoners.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Restricting the interaction of inmates with jail staff is crucial \u2014 authorities suspect that <strong>asymptomatic jail officials<\/strong> may have <strong>contributed to the spread of the virus<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Data on the prevalence of testing, infection and vaccination, as well as the status of medical infrastructure in jails, must be released periodically to allow public monitoring.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Prisons in the country must be given appropriate correctional treatment through actual enforcement of various recommendations and suggestions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Maintenance of daily hygiene<\/strong> in prisons should be put at a premium.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is need of the hour that <strong>provisions of security of prisoners<\/strong> mentioned in jail <strong>manuals must be followed strictly<\/strong> and also<strong> well-equipped and trained prison<\/strong> <strong>staff should be appointed<\/strong> to look for safety measures.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Regular and timely inspection <\/strong>from judicial officers must be conducted.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>All the organs of police and administration <\/strong>must combine together so that effective social rehabilitation of inmates can be secured.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Source: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/76-per-cent-prisoners-are-undertrials-ratio-is-highest-in-delhi-jk-7900089\/\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><strong><u>IE<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Context\u00a0 According to the latest available data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2020, about 76% of all prison inmates in the country were undertrials, of which about 68% were either illiterate or school dropouts. Major Findings of Report\u00a0 Of the total 4,88,511 prison inmates, 3,71,848 were found to be undertrials. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[31,30,83],"class_list":["post-9299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-government-policies-interventions","tag-gs-2","tag-issues-relating-to-development"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2779200Screenshot_6.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}