Study shows 42% of all undertrial prisoners are in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra
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The India Justice Report 2025 states that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra collectively made up 42% of the country's undertrial prisoner population as of December 2022.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of undertrial inmates, with more than 94,000 individuals, representing almost 22% of the total undertrials across India. Among the larger states, Bihar had the largest proportion of prisoners awaiting investigation or trial, standing at 89%, followed closely by Odisha at 85%.
The report was compiled by a group of NGOs and civil society organizations, including the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Daksh, Tata Institute of Social Sciences-Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and How India Lives, Scroll.in reported.
The study highlighted that a significant factor contributing to prison overcrowding in India is the large number of undertrial inmates. It also revealed that, on average, these prisoners are now spending longer periods in custody than in previous years.
By the end of 2022, there were 11,448 undertrial prisoners who had been in jail for five years or more, compared to 5,011 in 2019 and just 2,028 in 2012.
Uttar Pradesh accounted for nearly 40% of these long-term undertrials as of 2022.
The report further pointed out that while bail remains the most commonly applied alternative to imprisonment during the pre-trial or investigation phase, judges in India do have the authority to consider other non-custodial options, especially for offenders considered low-risk.
“These [measures] must balance rehabilitation of the offender with community safety and well-being,” the report said. “Such measures include fines and compounding, probation, community service orders, release on parole, conditional release on bail, and also house arrest,” as reported by Scroll in
The study found that between 2012 and 2022, prison occupancy rates across India rose from 112% to 132%. During this ten-year span, the total prison population grew by 49%, increasing from 3.8 lakh to 5.7 lakh inmates nationwide.
