Bengal third state on list of undertrials in jail for 3-5 yrs
Times of India | 24 October 2025
Kolkata: Bengal ranks third in number of undertrials incarcerated for three to five years, with 1,921 inmates, and for over five years, with 1,245 inmates, according to the ‘Prison Statistics India' 2023 report by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).
Of the 1,921 undertrials in prison for three to five years, 1,816 were men and 105 were women, contributing to 8.3% to the national figure of 23,006. Bengal was the third highest, with Uttar Pradesh leading the list with 5,474 and Maharashtra with 3,823.
There were 1,245 undertrials for over five years in Bengal in 2023 — 1,157 men and 88 women — contributing to 12% of the national total of 10,392. In this category as well, the highest was Uttar Pradesh with 2,639, followed by Maharashtra with 2,213.
In line with the national trend of the number of undertrials exceeding the number of convicts, Bengal also has 20,294 undertrials and 4,941 convicts.
According to the PSI report, in 2023, 1,08,267 undertrials were released on bail, 1,229 were acquitted by lower courts, 3,003 were released on appeal by higher courts, and 62 were transferred to another state.
In fact, the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) for the district shows a concerning image whereby out of 12,20,626 pending criminal cases, 5,14,177 are being delayed because counsel is not available, 3,02,455 because the accused is absconding, and 50,685 because documents are awaited.
Considering an already crumbling occupancy rate of 120% and overcrowding, the higher number of undertrials is a burden on the prison system. Out of 60 prisons in Bengal, eight are central jails, 13 district jails, 30 sub-jails, one women's prison, and four open and special jails each. The highest occupancy is in sub-jails, where the available capacity is 2,428 and the number of inmates is 4,293, with a 176.8% occupancy rate.
The second highest is in district jails, with an available capacity of 3,818 and a number of inmates of 6,051, with a 158.5% occupancy rate.
The condition of the one women's prison is also deplorable, with 110% occupancy.
The state was also the fourth highest where 69 people were eligible for release under 436A of the CrPC (undertrials who have undergone imprisonment extending up to more than half of the sentence of the accused offences), but only 17 were released in 2023.
On Sept 18, CM Mamata Banerjee said 840 prisoners serving life terms since 2011, all of whom have served more than 14 years, will be released. According to the report, Bengal had 2,549 inmates serving life imprisonment.