Indian prisons in dire straits: 7 in 10 undertrials, 1 in 3 Dalit or tribal

Seven in 10 of the 478,600 people in prison in Indian jails are under trial, according to the 2019 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on prisons

Anil* (26) and Suresh* (36), both from scheduled caste (SC) or dalit communities, have been under trial for a case of attempt to murder in western Maharashtra since November 2016. The case has cost them lakhs of rupees, and the nearly five months they spent in jail cost them regular employment and economic stress--a setback they are yet to recover from.

They got bail in late March 2017 but the case continues--they claim it is false and was filed after they had a run-in with a dominant caste group in their locality. Anil and Suresh’s case is somewhat typical--37% of