India’s Prisons: 95.84% Males, Highest Number of Convicts, Undertrials Languishing in UP Jails

Data showcasing a stark gender imbalance in prisons, with males dominating at 95.84%, has come forth, emphasizing the need for a closer examination of gender-specific criminal justice policies. On a state level, Uttar Pradesh’s disproportionately high inmate count also highlights a potential systemic issue.

The data also provides the ethnic division of the prisoners- Hindus constitute73.8%, Muslims 17.1%, Sikhs 4.2%, and Christians 3.3%. In under trials, 65.3% are Hindus, 19.3% Muslims, 4.7% Sikhs, and 2.5% Christians. Among detenues, Hindus represent 50.3%, Muslims 35.2%, Sikhs 0.4%, Christians 9.8%. The state of Tamil Nadu has the highest number of detainees, reported to be 2,129.

On December 13, during the ongoing winter parliamentary session, Mohamed Abdulla raised several questions regarding the gender-wise as well as the religion-wise prisoners’ ratio. Abdulla belongs to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party and is a member of the Rajya Sabha. These questions were presented to Ajay Kumar Mishra, who currently serves as the minister of state in ministry of home affairs.

When asked regarding the details about the gender-wise prisoners’ ratio, the minister presented the annexure given below.

From the above table, it can be deduced that males constitute 95.84% of the total inmates’ population in the country, whereas females and the transgender community constitute 4.15% and 0.01% respectively. The highest number of inmates are present in the prisons of Uttar Pradesh with 1,21,609 inmates and the lowest number of inmates, 6 in total, are present in Lakshadweep.

The state of Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of male and female prisoners. As per the data, a total of 1,16792 males and 4809 females are present in Uttar Pradesh. The lowest number of males, only 6, are present in Lakshadweep. The prisons of DNH & Daman Diu, Ladakh and Lakshadweep have no female inmates. The highest number of transgender prisoners, 17 in total, are present in the prisons of Maharashtra as well as West Bengal.

The following table provided the religion-wise details of the convicts lodged in jails:

 From the above table, it can be observed that the Hindus make up 73.8% of the total convicts lodged in jails, followed by Muslims (17.1%), Sikhs (4.2%), Christians (3.3%) and other religions (1.6%) of the convicts lodged in jails. In the prison of Uttar Pradesh, a total of 20,063 Hindus, 550 Christians and 5,881 Muslims have been lodged, the highest amongst religion-wise population from other states. The highest number of Sikhs are present in the prisons of Punjab, with 3860 Sikh convicts. The highest number of other religions’ convicts are lodged in Maharashtra, a total of 958 convicts.

The above table provides the percentage distribution of all the religions of the under trials lodged in jails. As per the data, Hindus make up 65.3% of the total population of under trials, Muslims make up 19.3%, 4.7% Sikhs, 2.5% Christians and 0.7% other religions. It is essential to point out here that the aforementioned percentage will fully accurate as the state of Maharashtra has not provided any data on the break-up of the under trials religion-wise. As expected, the highest number of under trials are lodged in the jails of Uttar Pradesh, holding 94,131undertrails. On the other hand, the lowest number of under trials are lodged in jail of Lakshadweep with only 6 under trials.

A total of 65,789 Hindus and 26,149 Muslims, highest amongst the other states, were present in the jails of Uttar Pradesh. The highest number of under trial Sikhs, 14565 in total, are lodged in Punjab while the highest number of under trial Christians are in Tamil Nadu, a total of 1651. The prison of Uttar Pradesh also houses the highest number of other religions’ under trials, a total of 1089.

Lastly, the above table providing the percentage distribution of all the religions of the detenues lodged in jails was also provided in the response of the Union. Detenues are those people who are held in custody. The Hindus make up 50.3%, followed by Muslims at 35.2%, Christians at 9.8%, Sikhs at 0.4%, and the other religions constitute 0% of the detenues lodged in jails. Notably, since no data is present for the state of Maharashtra, the aforementioned percentages will not be fully accurate.

The statistics reveal a significant gender disparity, with males comprising 95.84% of inmates nationwide. Uttar Pradesh hosts the highest inmate count while Lakshadweep holds the lowest. Among religious groups, Hindus form the majority among convicts, under trials, and detenues, particularly prominent in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Muslims have a substantial presence in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, while Sikhs are notably concentrated in Punjab. For Christians, their highest population can be found in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These patterns underscore regional variations and demand targeted interventions within the criminal justice system to address these disparities and ensure equitable representation and treatment across demographics.