Abstract

The article talks about the dire state of undertrial prisoners in India. Total prisoners in India is 4,88,511 and out of those 3,71,848 are under trial prisoners. The number of undertrials has gone up from 3,32,916 to 3,71,848, which is an increase of 11.7% during a single year. This article in-depth looks at the reasons why there has been an increase in the number of undertrials. The state of the undertrials in the world’s largest democracy is dire and their future looks bleak. With long-going investigations and no sight of a trial culminating, the undertrial prisoners are left in a state of anxiousness. In the process of justice being served there lies somewhere injustice. The article looks into the few recourses which can be taken by the justice delivery system to improve the state of the undertrials without hampering the process of justice. It also talks about the much-needed police reforms and judicial reforms. Moreover, it talks about the sections which the Indian legal system already has but due to callous authorities the afflicted are left in a state of helplessness. It focuses on the main reasons behind the increasing number of undertrials like the poor population who are ignorant of their right and callous authorities who don’t make it a duty to make the accused aware of his right. With few much-needed reforms and strict implementation, the problem of a growing number of undertrials can be and should be solved and the article focuses on that.

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