Karnataka tops the list of states tardy in producing undertrials at the court

Amnesty International India has just published a report, “Justice Under Trial: A study of pre-trial detention in India,” detailing the travails of people arrested and jailed but not convicted.

The pan-India report is a scathing indictment of the situation.

The report says: "The number of instances in which undertrials were not produced in court due to a shortage of police escorts between September 2014 and February 2015 across India... was a staggering 82,334 (from 154 prisons). The actual number in India is likely to be much higher since many prisons did not respond to the RTI requests."

Figures of the monthly average of undertrial non-production due to shortage of police escorts and video conferencing between September 2014 and February 2015 in Karnataka was 2,490.

A related reason is the lack of police strength to produce undertrials in court.

According to National Crime Records Bureau data, Karnataka is among the bottom 10 states in terms of police coverage. For an average 100 sq Km, Karnataka is only able to deploy 40 police personnel, which falls below the national average of 55. 

“Bengaluru Police has an acute manpower shortage. Any policeman cannot be a police escort, only armed reserve police can be escorts. There’s not just a shortage of escorts, there’s also a shortage of vehicles and drivers. Only a designated driver can drive the vehicle in which the undertrials are to be transported, to court,"ST Ramesh (former Inspector General (Prisons), Karnataka) is quoted as saying. 

However, Karnataka also scores low among states facilitating video conferencing for its undertrials. The undertrial production rate per 100 video-conferencing requests was at 62, lower than Telangana (93) and Chhattisgarh (100).

Other notable findings:

• As of December 2015, 67% of prisoners in India were undertrials. 

• India’s undertrial population has a disproportionate number of Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis, compared to their share in the overall population. About 29% of undertrials are not formally literate.

• About 29% of undertrials are not formally literate.
• A quarter have been in prison for more than a year.
• Most prisons in India are overcrowded, partly as a result of excessive undertrial detention. 
• The average occupancy rate in Indian prisons is 114