India’s prisons are dangerously overcrowded, operating at a national average of 131% capacity, with the situation worsening significantly over the last decade, reveals the India Justice Report (IJR) 2025. This alarming state is primarily fuelled by a massive influx of undertrial prisoners – individuals awaiting trial, not convicted of any crime – who now constitute 76% of the entire prison population, up from 66% just ten years ago. This chronic overcrowding, coupled with prolonged pre-trial detention, stretches prison resources thin and raises serious concerns about the basic human rights and living conditions of inmates.The national average of 131% masks even more dire conditions in specific facilities. The report highlights that 176 prisons across the country were operating at over 200% capacity in 2022. Further analysis reveals 89 prisons with occupancy rates exceeding 250%, and 12 prisons operating at over an astonishing 400% capacity.The problem is widespread geographically. Data shows that 25 states and Union Territories reported overall prison occupancy rates above 100% in 2022, an increase from previous years (Figure 25), indicating that overcrowding is becoming more entrenched across the country.The overwhelming presence of undertrials is the primary engine driving this overcrowding. At 76% nationally, this figure climbs even higher in some jurisdictions, reaching 90% in Delhi and 89% in Bihar. Uttar Pradesh, while having a slightly lower percentage, houses the largest absolute number – over 94,000 undertrials, accounting for nearly 22% of all undertrials nationwide. Together, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra hold 42% of India’s entire undertrial population.Also Read: 5 Crore Cases and Counting: India’s Courts are Struggling to Clear the Pile-UpWorryingly, undertrials are spending increasing amounts of time incarcerated awaiting the completion of investigations or trials – a direct consequence of the judicial backlog detailed in our previous story. Figure 27 graphically shows the breakdown: nationally, 22% of all undertrials (nearly one in four) had spent between one and three years in jail as of December 2022. This is a significant increase from 18% in 2012.Even more concerning is the number held for longer periods. Nearly 11,500 individuals (2.6% of undertrials) had been detained for over five years without trial completion. Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for almost 40% of this group. States like Goa reported nearly half their undertrials being held for 1-3 years. This prolonged detention without conviction effectively turns pre-trial custody into a form of punishment itself, exacerbated by overcrowded conditions.Such extreme overcrowding inevitably strains already limited prison resources and impacts inmates’ basic rights. The report points to critical shortages in essential staff. The inmate-to-cadre staff ratio is nearly double the benchmark (Figure 15e), meaning fewer personnel manage larger, more volatile populations.Figure 28 shows most states fail to meet the benchmark for medical officers per inmate. Furthermore, the report flags a severe lack of mental health support, with a national average of just one psychologist/psychiatrist for every 22,928 inmates. This comes alongside findings from committees like the Amitava Roy Committee, the report noted, pointing to inadequate basic amenities such as sleeping space.The report’s projections offer little hope for immediate improvement. Figures 15a and 15b forecast that India’s inmate population will continue to rise through 2030, likely outpacing the projected increase in prison capacity, suggesting the overcrowding crisis may deepen further.This is the second article in a series on the state of India’s justice system by analysing data from the India Justice Report 2025.