66
...
...
...
...
..
C I V I L L I B E RT I E S
hundred thousand of the population was, interestingly, at the bottom of the
chart among the States.
4.80 Overcrowding exceeded the all-India average of 31.19% in 12 States/
Union Territories, namely, Delhi, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Harayna,
Bihar, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Goa and Tripura.
Delhi, as in the past, had the most overcrowded jails (217%) followed by
Jharkhand (165%) and Chhattisgarh (110%). Jails had idle capacity in 12
States/Union Territories, namely, Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir, Daman & Diu,
Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Kerala, Pondichery and Megalaya. However, because of the uneven
distribution of the jail population, it was observed that even in these States,
certain sub-jails and district jails were overcrowded.
4.81 Under-trials constituted 74.06% of the total prison population in the
country, which was similar to the 75.09% as of 31 December 2001. Eight States/
Union Territories had under-trial prisoners exceeding 80% of the total prison
population. These were: Dadra & Nagar Haveli (100%), Meghalaya (94.66%),
Manipur (92.19%), Jammu & Kashmir (91.67%), Nagaland (89.87%), Uttar
Pradesh (87.37%), Bihar (86.27%), Jharkhand (83.24%). Only two States,
namely, Tamil Nadu (36.16%) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (24.05%) had
less than 50% of the prisoners who were under-trials.
4.82 Women constituted 3.42 % of the total prison population. Mizoram with
10.19% had the highest percentage, followed by Tamil Nadu (6.59%), Dadra and
Nagar Haveli (6.45%), Andhra Pradesh (5.52%) and Kerala (5.38%).
4.83 Children upto the age of 5-6 years are permitted to stay with their
mothers who are in jail. A total of 1,369 children were there living with their
mothers. This meant that 13.15% of the women prisoners had their children
with them. West Bengal, with 234 such children, had the highest number in
the country, followed by Uttar Pradesh (219), Bihar (196) and Madhya Pradesh
(138).
5)
Sensitization of Jail Staff
4.84 The sensitization programme for Jail Superintendents and Jailers, which
the Commission started in 2000-01, continued during the period under review.
One-day workshops were held in Sambalpur, Orissa (24 August 2002),
N AT I O N A L H U M A N R I G H T S C O M M I S S I O N