Maharashtra jails have 12,343 excess prisoners; Mumbai has 3-time more than capacity: Fadnavis

Mumbai: There were 39,527 prisoners in the 60 jails of Maharashtra till May 2025 as against their capacity of 27,184 -- an excess of 12,343 inmates, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the legislative council on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the council, Fadnavis, who is the also the Home minister, said the capacity of central prisons in Mumbai is 999, but it had 3,268 prisoners till May 2025 -- three-time the capacity.

There were 39,527 inmates in the 60 prisons of Maharashtra till May 2025, while their capacity is to accommodate 27,184 prisoners, he said.

The CM said the state government has been taking steps to augment the capacity of prisons by building new ones by making land available. The government is also increasing space for prisoners by adding new barracks to the existing jails.

These steps will create space to accommodate 17,110 more prisoners, Fadnavis told the upper house.

The CM said under the 'Support to Poor Prisoners' scheme of the government, financial assistance is given to inmates for bail or paying fine who are from economically weaker sections.

The District Legal Service Authority and NGOs also provides free legal services to the needy prisoners, Fadnavis said.

The CM said of the 39,527 prisoners in the state, 6,003 are illiterate -- of which 5,067 are undertrials.

The state government as well NGOs provide necessary education to prisoners, especially those in the age group of 18-30 years. Vocational courses are organised in different prisons by the Yashwantrao Chavan Open University and the Indira Gandhi National Open University, he said.

The government has signed MoUs with Samata Foundation, Azim Premji Philanthropic Trust and Tata Institute of Social Sciences for rehabilitation of prisoners, the CM added.