Time to unlock electronic tracking technology for undertrial inmates: SC report

Supreme Court report advocates pilot programmes for using electronic tracking devices on undertrial prisoners to alleviate severe prison congestion

As the prison system in India faces significant challenges, with overcrowding being a pressing issue, a recent report by the Supreme Court’s Centre for Research and Planning has called for launching pilot programmes to use electronic tracking devices for releasing undertrial prisoners (UTPs) to ease prison overcrowding.

The report, titled ‘Prisons in India - Mapping Prison Manuals and Measures for Reformation and Decongestion’, was released by President Droupadi Murmu on November 5, 2024.

“In India, to assess community readiness, a pilot run of electronic monitoring may be done firstly on low and moderate risk UTPs having good conduct, who may be released on prison leaves like parole or furlough. Depending on the success rate of the use of technology in offender management, it may later be extended to other prisoners,” the report said.

Data | Indian jails are overflowing, in 26 States prisoner count exceeds capacity 

Overcrowded prisons

The prison statistic as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that on December 31, 2022, of the total capacity of 4,36,266 inmates in all jails across India, the inmate population was 5,73,220, highlighting an overburdened system with 131% occupancy rate. Additionally, 75.7% or 4,34,302 inmates are UTPs.

The report said foreign jurisdictions around the world, including in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia and other countries, have been using electronic tracking devices to ease overcrowding in prisons.

In May 2023, the Home Ministry forwarded the ‘Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023’ to all States and Union Territories for adoption in their respective jurisdictions. For the first time, the Act introduced the use of electronic tracking devices on prisoners, stating, “Prisoners may be granted prison leave on the condition of their willingness to wear electronic tracking devices for monitoring the movement and activities of such prisoners.”

“Undeniably, this is a welcome move to use technology as a decongestant in the correctional framework in India, however, there are no guidelines or minimum standards as to when and how this tracking technology can be employed without undue violation of the fundamental rights of prisoners,” the report said.

The Law Commission of India in its 268-page report published in May 2017 also acknowledged that “Electronic tagging has the potential to reduce both fugitive rates (by allowing the defendant to be easily located) and government expenditures (by reducing the number of defendants detained at state expense)”. However, it said the electronic monitoring system, if used, “must be implemented with highest degree of caution”.

Legal precedents

In July 2022, the Delhi High Court passed a bail order with one of the bail conditions set for the accused, in a case of forgery and cheating, to drop his live location every week on Google Maps to ensure that his location was available to the police.

In November 2023, the Supreme Court enlarged an accused on bail, subject to the conditions that he would not go beyond the Alwar district of Rajasthan and would make his location available through mobile phone by pairing it with the mobile phone of the Investigating Officer round the clock.

While various High Courts have imposed similar bail conditions, the Supreme Court in a recent judgment passed on July 8, 2024 had disapproved of this practice saying: “The object of the bail condition cannot be to keep a constant vigil on the movements of the accused enlarged on bail.”

“Nevertheless, the usefulness of tracking technology as a substitute for prison incarceration cannot be undermined,” the report noted. It added that any kind of surveillance by the State to achieve the objective of prison decongestion must come with due safeguards and clear-cut guidelines.

“Good conduct and potential for reform may be incentivised by consensually allowing the UTPs/convicts to be released on prison leaves like parole, or furlough on the condition of wearing a tracker device to obviate any chance of escape,” the report said.

Advocate Ajay Verma, who has worked extensively on issues of human rights, crime, and prison reforms, told The Hindu that he welcomed the use of tracking devices as “a very good initiative”.

“The prison is already overcrowded and there is a big gap in the family visits, and the prisoners get lot of mental stress, besides the inconvenience,” Mr. Verma said. He said using tracking devices to monitor individuals, rather than keeping them confined in jails, would not only ease the burden on prison infrastructure but also help mitigate the mental stress that prisoners face due to restricted family contact and isolation.

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Advocate Anant Asthana, another legal expert, expressed reservations about institutionalising the practice universally, warning of potential misuse and infringement of civil liberties.

“The idea of electronic tracking cannot be and should not be prescribed for universal application because it may not serve any purpose in most cases and it may not even be workable in some cases, and its universal application can also be misused against people who are granted bail by courts,” Mr. Asthana told The Hindu.

Published - November 16, 2024 07:19 pm IST