UP Jails House 80,326 Inmates Against Capacity Of 76,162, Allahabad High Court Told; Prison DG's Affidavit Sought On Overcrowding
| HC flags missing details on 6 new prisons, project timelines and the status of additional barracks in Uttar Pradesh
The Allahabad High Court has sought a detailed affidavit from the Director General (DG) of the Uttar Pradesh Prison Administration and Reform Services on overcrowding in jails across the State.
The Court sought the affidavit after being apprised that UP's prison capacity is 76,162, while 80,326 prisoners and convicts are currently confined in these facilities.
A Bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi observed that there is excess occupancy over capacity,
Therefore, it directed the Prison Department's DG to file a proper affidavit, preferably in a tabular form, disclosing the correct current status of overcrowding in jails and the efforts being made to address the problem.
The Court passed the direction while hearing a 2018 suo motu public interest litigation titled In Re: Overcrowding In Prisons.
The High Court has been examining several aspects of prison conditions, including overcrowding, the condition of undertrial prisoners, prison infrastructure, vacancies in prison staff, women prisoners and their children and the availability of open-air camps.
On October 27, the bench perused an affidavit dated May 23, 2026, filed by the Senior Superintendent of Central Jail, Naini, District Prayagraj. According to the affidavit, the total prison capacity in Uttar Pradesh was 76,162, while 80,326 prisoners and convicts were confined in the State's prisons.
The Court, however, noted that the affidavit did not disclose the breakdown of undertrial prisoners and convicts, or the gender-wise and age-wise distribution of those confined in the prisons.
The Bench further observed that the authorities may have adopted temporary measures by processing applications for premature release and considering release upon payment of fines.
However, it noted that such measures may be wholly temporary, while an increase in prison capacity was also required.
The affidavit further disclosed that prison capacity was being increased and that new barracks and prisons were under construction.
However, the bench noted that the details of these developments had not been furnished in the affidavit..
In particular, no details were provided on the 6 new prisons being established, the stage of each project, or the status of the proposed increase in barracks.
In view of this, the Court directed thus:
"Let a proper affidavit be filed by the Director General (DG) of the Uttar Pradesh Prison Administration and Reform Services, preferably in a tabular form, to disclose the correct current status of overcrowding, in jails, and efforts being made to address the same, within one month".
The matter has been directed to be listed again on December 1.
In related news, the Supreme Court last week directed the State of Uttar Pradesh to carry out an exercise identifying all undertrial prisoners in 55 districts who have been granted bail but have not been released due to failure to comply with bail conditions, including execution of sureties.
The Court has stated that the exercise would cover all undertrial prisoners irrespective of whether they have engaged a private lawyer or have sought assistance of the District Legal Services Authority(DLSA). Further, it must be carried out with the help of the concerned DLSA.
A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice PB Varale passed these directions in a suo motu matter in which the issue related to the release of undertrials who haven't been released due to their unwillingness or inability to furnish bail sureties.