SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir had 4,568 undertrial prisoners lodged in its jails as on December 31, 2023, of whom 3,667 had been in custody for up to three years, 626 for a period between three and five years, and 275 for more than five years, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
Replying to a Question, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said the figures are based on the latest “Prison Statistics India 2023” report compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau.
The duration-wise data placed before Parliament shows that a substantial majority of undertrials in Jammu and Kashmir—3,667 inmates—have been confined for up to three years. Another 626 have spent between three and five years in jail awaiting completion of trial, while 275 undertrial prisoners have been lodged for more than five years.
Category-wise, of the total 4,568 undertrials in Jammu and Kashmir, 165 belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC), 432 to the Scheduled Tribes (ST), 187 to the Other Backward Classes (OBC), and 3,784 fall under the ‘Others’ category.
In Ladakh, the total number of undertrial prisoners as on December 31, 2023 stood at 42. These include 20 from the ST category, six from OBCs and 16 under ‘Others’, with no undertrial recorded from the SC category.
The Minister informed the House that ‘Prisons and Prisoners’ is a State subject under the Constitution and that the administration of prisons rests with the respective State Governments, with the Centre supplementing their efforts. To assist economically vulnerable inmates unable to pay fines or secure bail, the Government is implementing the “Support to Poor Prisoners” scheme with an annual outlay of Rs 20 crore for the years 2023–24 to 2025–26. As of February 10, 2026, rs 71.71 lakh has been utilised across States and Union Territories, benefiting 273 eligible prisoners.
The National Legal Services Authority has facilitated the establishment of Under Trial Review Committees in all districts to periodically examine cases of eligible undertrial prisoners for release. Nationwide, 2,75,065 inmates were recommended for bail or release by such committees between 2021 and 2025, of whom 1,35,237 were released.
The reply also referred to bail provisions under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which mandate release on bail of undertrials who have undergone detention up to one-half of the maximum prescribed sentence for certain offences, with additional relief for first-time offenders. Technology-based alerts through the ePrisons portal under the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System are being used to identify and track eligible cases for timely release.
