Ranchi: Jharkhand recorded an overall jail occupancy rate of 91.7 per cent in 2024, a significant decline from 106.7 per cent in 2023, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report-2025. District jails in the state, however, reported an occupancy rate of 114 per cent in 2024, which was lower than the national average of 120.3 per cent.
State Among Those With Below-Average Occupancy
Jharkhand was among 11 states and six union territories that had occupancy rates below 100 per cent in 2024. The other regions with lower rates included Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Tripura, Odisha, Daman and Diu, Nagaland, Manipur, Ladakh and Lakshadweep, as per the NCRB report.
Nationally, the average jail occupancy stood at 112.7 per cent, with Madhya Pradesh recording the highest figure of 163.5 per cent.
Breakdown by Jail Type
In Jharkhand, central jails reported an occupancy rate of 90.5 per cent against the national average of 118.3 per cent. Sub-jails in the state stood at 53.9 per cent, compared to the nationwide average of 83.2 per cent.
IG (Prisons) Sudarshan Mandal attributed the improvement to various measures. “The state administration took several measures after the high occupancy rate in 2023. The new jails at Barhi and Madhupur were made operational and prisoners were shifted to these two. The prisoners were also transferred from overcrowded to less crowded jails,” he said.
Undertrial Prisoners a Key Factor
Mandal highlighted that a large number of undertrial prisoners contributed to high occupancy. “In 2024, of the 16,201 inmates lodged in Jharkhand jails, 11,232 were undertrials,” he added.
Jharkhand had 32 jails in 2024, comprising seven central jails, 16 district jails, seven sub-jails, one borstal school, and one special jail, with a total capacity of 17,671.
About the Author: Sanjay Sahay, with over a decade of experience in journalism, primarily covers crime, security, central agencies, and civil courts in Ranchi. He also reports on education and higher education policies in the state.
