The majority of prisoners in India are on trial; accounts for 62% of the total prison population- The New Indian Express

NEW DELHI: Prisoners on trial make up 62% of India’s total prison population, compared to a global average of 18-20%. Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state, has the highest number of sentenced prisoners, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

In terms of sub-trials, UP recorded the highest number of prisoners with 80,267, followed by Bihar with 44,113 and Madhya Pradesh with 31,695. Figures are up to March 31, 2020. The majority of sub -trials belonged to the age group 18-30 years, followed by 30-50 years and 50 years and over.

Due to high rates of court wait times, the share of defendants incarcerated for more than one year, more than three years and more than five years has increased significantly. The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that defendants should not be subject to incarceration for the sole reason of failing to provide bonds.

Last year, the highest court said: “While deprivation of personal liberty for a period of time may not be avoidable, the period of deprivation pending trial/appeal cannot be unduly long. At the same time, delivering justice in a timely manner is a human right and the denial of prompt justice is a threat to public confidence in the justice system.

There are 1,339 prisons in this country and about 4,66,084 inmates live there. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the occupancy rate of Indian prisons is 117.6%, and in states like Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim, the occupancy rate reaches 176.5% and 157.3 respectively. %.