KOCHI: A report by the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA) — based on inspections of correctional institutions such as prisons, jails, detention centres across the state — has revealed that severe space shortages have forced inmates to sleep in shifts, while many are packed so tightly together that they spend the night breathing one another’s exhaled air.
The report filed before the Kerala High Court stated that several government departments possess vacant land and unused properties adjoining existing prison complexes, which could be effectively utilised for the construction of additional prison blocks and allied infrastructure to mitigate overcrowding.
The prison authorities stated that there are 58 jails in the state, housing a total of 9,914 inmates till date against an authorised capacity of 7,416. The prison authorities maintained that overcrowding is limited to the central prisons, asserting that district jails and sub-jails are not affected by the problem.
The report stated: “Overcrowding in Kerala Prisons, particularly among Undertrial Prisoners (UTPs), has reached an alarming level, resulting in serious violations of their fundamental human rights and constitutional guarantees of dignity.
In several correctional institutions, inmates are compelled to sleep in shifts owing to the acute shortage of space, with prisoners lying in such close proximity that they are forced to inhale one another’s breath throughout the night.”
KeLSA filed the report in response to a case initiated suo motu on the basis of the Supreme Court’s judgment dated February 26, which called for consideration of various issues concerning prisons including overcrowding and to strengthen Open Correctional Institutions for the effective rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners.
The report stated that many of the inmates in jails are undertrial prisoners. It also pointed out the plight of an undertrial prisoner who has remained incarcerated on remand for nearly 30 years and is reportedly suffering from mental illness.
“It shows the systemic deficiencies affecting the administration of criminal justice. The case is illustrative of the human cost of prolonged pre-trial detention and underscores the urgent need for periodic judicial and administrative review of the continued incarceration of undertrial prisoners, particularly those who are vulnerable on accounts of mental illness or other disabilities,” the KeLSA report said.
Another factor contributing to the continued overcrowding of prisons is the absence of fully functional transit homes for foreign nationals who have received bail.
Although a transit home intended to accommodate women foreign nationals released on bail was formally inaugurated in Alappuzha in October 2024, the facility is yet to become fully operational.
Consequently, women foreign nationals accused of offences under the Foreigners Act, despite having been granted bail by the court, continue to remain lodged in prisons solely for want of appropriate transit accommodation pending completion of deportation or other immigration formalities.
In certain instances, such women are shifted to One Stop Centres, which are temporary shelter homes established primarily for survivors of domestic violence, sexual offences, and children affected by offences under Pocso Act.