Justice delayed as judge to population ratio stands at all-time low

Chief Justice of India said that out of 6.10 lakh prisoners in the 1,378 prisons across the country, nearly 80 per cent are undertrial prisoners

The country is plagued with an increasing number of undertrial prisoners as the judiciary system as of April 1 had only 14.4 judges for every one million population.

Between 2016 and 2020, the number of inmates in prisons undergoing trials increased 26 per cent to reach 371,848 which is an all-time high, according to a Business Standard report.

As vacancies in lower courts, high courts and the Supreme Court remain unfilled, a quarter of the undertrial prisoners have been in jail for at least a year, the report added.

Speaking at the 18th All India Legal Services Authorities Meet in Jaipur last week, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana had said that out of 6.10 lakh prisoners in the 1,378 prisons across the country, nearly 80 per cent are undertrial prisoners. They are one of the most vulnerable sections of the society, Ramana had added.

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"In our criminal justice system, the process is the punishment. From hasty indiscriminate arrests, to difficulty in obtaining bail, the process leading to the prolonged incarceration of undertrials needs urgent attention," the CJI had said.

As per the National Judicial Data Grid, there are 4.2 crore pending cases at the district and taluka courts of India, 59.5 lakh pending cases at the high courts, and 72,062 before the Supreme Court.

(With inputs from agencies)