Shillong: Meghalaya jails are packed. New NCRB data shows state prisons operating at 163.5 percent of their sanctioned capacity as of December 31, 2024. Only Delhi, at 194.6 percent, holds a higher occupancy rate. Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra follow closely behind.
The state houses 1,406 inmates across five district facilities despite a total capacity for only 860. Across India, 609 jails hold excess prisoners. National data shows 511,542 inmates are crammed into spaces built for 453,769 people.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar presented these figures to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. He noted that 371,440 undertrial prisoners remain in custody nationwide. While 968 qualified for release under Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, authorities let only 627 go. States offered no explanation for these delays. As the minister stated, "No specific reasons for the delay in releasing the remaining eligible undertrials were reported by the states and Union territories."
Meghalaya lacks a central jail. It relies on district prisons in Shillong, Tura, Jowai, Williamnagar, and Nongpoh. The colonial-era Shillong District Jail suffers from chronic overcrowding. Officials are extending the Shillong site and building a new prison in Nongstoin. Plans for a central prison stall due to land acquisition issues. The state recently enacted the Meghalaya Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2026, to fix management gaps.
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