Over 1.21 lakh prisoners lodged in Uttar Pradesh jails against capacity of 64,000: State govt tells upper house

Minister of state for prison Dharamvir Prajapati, in his written reply, said that as on September 13, 2022, a total of 181 prisoners had completed 80 years of age or more in Uttar Pradesh jails.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday informed the Upper House (state legislative council) that jails in the state were overcrowded and new barracks and prisons were being built to thin out the crowd that also includes 181 undertrials and convicted prisoners who are 80 years or above in age.

The jail-wise list provided by the Uttar Pradesh government shows that in several jails, the number of prisoners was thrice (or more) the capacity. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE )

The government gave this information in a reply to a starred and an unstarred question asked separately by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member Bheemrao Ambedkar.

Through the unstarred question, the member wanted to know if the number of prisoners lodged in jails outstripped the capacity of prisons.

In his affirmative written reply tabled in the House, minister of state for prison Dharmvir Prajapati said as many as 1,21,794 prisoners were lodged in U.P. jails against the capacity of only 64,223 prisoners.

“New barracks and jails are being made for additional prisoners with a view to stopping overcrowding,” he said.

The jail-wise list provided by the Uttar Pradesh government shows that in several jails, the number of prisoners was thrice (or more) the capacity.

The Ghaziabad jail probably tops the chart as it houses 5637 prisoners against the capacity of 1704 (3933 additional prisoners). Similarly, 2995 additional prisoners are lodged in Moradabad jail while Aligarh jail houses 4106 prisoners vis-à-vis a capacity of 1178.

Through the starred question, the BSP MLC sought to know if some of the prisoners lodged in jails in the state were above 80 and if the government would order for pre-mature release of such undertrials and convicted prisoners.

The minister, in his written reply, said that as on September 13, 2022, a total of 181 prisoners had completed 80 years of age or more. He said provisions already existed for the release of such convicted prisoners on certain conditions, like they have completed 14 years of term in jail.

“However, undertrials are lodged in jails on courts’ order. The courts alone can order their release,” Prajapati said.