Undertrials in India [UPSC Notes]

According to the third India Justice Report (IJR), released in 2021, three out of four of the total prison population in India were undertrials. This is a rise of eight percentage points since 2019, indicating a concerning trend. The occupancy rate in prisons across India also hit a decade-high, going up by 12 percentage points in 2021.

In this context, it is important to understand why undertrials continue to languish in Indian prisons and what can be done to improve this situation. This topic is relevant for the IAS exam GS paper II.

Why are there so many undertrials in India?

• One of the primary reasons for this alarming trend is the slow pace of justice delivery in India. The pandemic has further exacerbated the situation, causing significant delays in the judicial system.
• As per the IJR report, the courts disposed of cases at a significantly lower pace during the Covid-19 pandemic. This has resulted in a backlog of cases, leading to a significant increase in the number of undertrials.
• There are several other factors contributing to the high number of undertrials in India such as the inefficient functioning of the criminal justice system.
• The police often arrest people without proper evidence or investigation, leading to the wrongful incarceration of innocent individuals. According to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2019, around 22% of undertrials in India had been in custody for more than two years, and over 70% of them were in jail for offenses that carried a maximum sentence of fewer than seven years.
• India has a shortage of judges, with a judge-population ratio of 20 judges per million people, which is much lower than the global average.
• Additionally, the Indian judiciary is overburdened with an enormous backlog of cases. As of 2021, the number of pending cases in Indian courts stood at over 4 crores. This has resulted in an incredibly slow pace of justice delivery, leading to many undertrials languishing in prison for years without a trial.
• The poor conditions in Indian prisons with overcrowding, lack of basic amenities, and poor healthcare facilities are common in Indian prisons, making it even more challenging for undertrials to cope with their prolonged detention.
• The Supreme Court of India has taken several measures to address the issue. In 2017, the court directed all states to set up a committee to review the cases of undertrials and release those who had been in custody for more than half of the maximum sentence they would have faced if convicted. The implementation has been slow and inadequate.