Idea of placing convicts under house arrest

Idea of placing convicts under house arrest

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Legislature; Judiciary 

In news

• The Supreme Court has thrown open the door to the legislature to “ponder” over the idea of placing convicts under house arrest to avoid overcrowding of prisons.

Key takeaways 

• A Bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and K.M. Joseph, in a judgment, highlighted the “alarming” statistics of prisons.
• The suggestion is relevant considering the spread of COVID-19.
• A few days ago, a Bench, led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, issued a series of directions, including the grant of interim bail and parole to prisoners to decongest prisons.
• The occupancy rate in prisons had climbed to 118.5% in 2019. 
• National Crime Records Bureau’s figures of 2019 show that 18,86,092 inmates were admitted in jails.
• The number of undertrial prisoners in 2019 was 3,30,487, which, in fact, constituted 69.05% of the total number of prisoners. 
• Secondly, a very large sum (₹6818.1 crore) was the budget for prisons.
• The “tremendous” overcrowding of prisons and the huge budget were both relevant in the context of the possibilities that house arrest offers.