Vaibhav.Ganjapure
Nagpur: Expressing concern over deteriorating conditions in Maharashtra’s overcrowded prisons, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court has given the state two weeks to submit detailed data on staff shortage, recruitment timelines, and the per-inmate expenditure in jails across the state.

A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi, hearing a criminal writ petition filed by Nanded-based undertrial Sachin Lone, took exception to the incomplete affidavits filed by the state’s principal secretary (appeals & security) and the special inspector general of prisons.
The court said it was “compelled” to consider issuing contempt notices, observing that officials “intentionally avoided” complying with its March 20 order directing submission of prison-wise staffing data, vacancy percentages, and details of the last official review of staffing needs. The judges flagged the systemic understaffing plaguing prisons
Bombay high court observed that “almost every prison in Maharashtra is overcrowded” and in some facilities “the number of inmates lodged is double the sanctioned capacity”. They said this burden compromises prison administration and leads to delays in decision-making, especially on prisoners’ applications.
“Recruitment underway will only address 25% of the vacancies. Still, around 15% will remain unfilled, for which immediate steps are necessary,” the bench said, referring to the state’s own affidavit that cited a 40% shortfall in sanctioned staff strength.
Justice Sambre also referred to his recent official visit to Nagpur Central Jail with SC judge and SC Legal Services Authority chairman Justice Bhushan Gavai. “We found the staff-to-inmate ratio alarming. The number of sanctioned staff itself is inadequate, and vacancies only worsen the situation. Prisoners were found to be suffering from skin ailments and infections. We were told medical staff was insufficient, forcing reliance on govt hospitals,” he said.
The judges stressed that all jails must have 24×7 availability of medical personnel, including physicians and psychiatrists, and cited Supreme Court’s landmark Sunil Batra versus Delhi administration judgment affirming prisoners’ fundamental rights.
Citing the India Justice Report-2025, the petitioner’s counsel Ratna Singh, assisted by Arpit Wagide, pointed out that Maharashtra spends just Rs 47 per inmate daily, compared to Rs733 in Andhra Pradesh. While the court said it was not accepting those figures as accurate, it directed the state to disclose its actual per-prisoner expenditure.
The HC also criticised the state’s failure to provide cadre-wise vacancy data. The next hearing is slated on May 6.