Multiple institutions including the Supreme Court, NHRC, the UN had called for decongestion of prisons, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as data indicates, prisons in India continued to be overcrowded by the end of 2020 with the trend of overcrowding continuing in certain states. The problem of prison overcrowding attracted greater attention during the pandemic, even though the problem has been persistent around the world for many years. During the pandemic, prisons emerged as hotspots of infection. According to UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as of May 2021, over 5.5 lakh prisoners in 122 countries had contracted the COVID-19 virus. Over 4,000 prison fatalities were also reported from 47 countries. The enforcement of COVID-19 prevention measures such as social distancing and maintaining hygiene are difficult in overcrowded prisons. To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, prisons resorted to limiting recreation, work opportunities and visitations which are vital for rehabilitation. Further, a few countries decided to release many persons who were held in custody such as convicts of non-violent offences, and remand prisoners. Since March 2020, about 7 lakh persons accounting for roughly 6% of the estimated global prison population, were authorized or considered eligible for temporary release in 119 countries. SC issued directions to decongest the overcrowded prisons in India in wake of COVID-19 Taking cognizance of the potential risk, the Supreme Court in March 2020 issued several directions for decongestion of prisons including setting up of High Powered Committees in all states/UTs to determine which prisoners may be released on interim bail or parole, on the basis of the nature of offence, the number of years to which the prisoner had been sentenced, or the severity of the offence for which they have been charged. Various High Courts have also issued guidelines in this matter. According to a study that cites data from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a total of 68,264 prisoners were released on interim bail across the country until 14 December 2020 as per the guidelines of the Committees. However, the number cannot be considered final as the period of data compiled from different states is not uniform. CHRI’s recent update also states that though many prisoners were released by June 2020, they were all recalled by December 2020. In other words, there was very little if not no impact on overcrowding. This was also because of a greater number of arrests in 2020 compared to 2019. Prison Statistics India 2020 report was released recently Recently, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released the annual Prisons Statistics India (PSI) for 2020 which provides comprehensive statistical information on various aspects of prison administration in India. The report for the first time in 2020 included the Transgender category in the gender classification of prisoners. Additionally, the 2020 report also provides data of the NGOs working exclusively for the welfare of women prisoners. Data from West Bengal for the year 2018 and 2019 was not received for the publication of Prison Statistics India 2018 & 2019 because of which the data for 2017 was used in both 2018 & 2019. However, this year, West Bengal has furnished data for 2018, 2019, and 2020. The data for 2018 & 2019 has been factored in this year’s publication. Prison Occupancy rate still at 118 by the end of 2020 According to the latest publication, as of 31 December 2020, there were 4.89 lakh persons lodged in 1,306 prisons across the country. The actual capacity of these prisons was 4.14 lakh persons. In other words, there were 4.89 lakh persons in the prisons in the country which can accommodate only 4.14 lakh persons. The occupancy rate of the prisons in India is calculated as the percentage of the ratio of inmate population to total capacity in prisons. An occupancy rate of more than 100% implies that the prisons are overcrowded and if it is below 100%, it means that the prisons are not yet filled to their capacity. By the end of 2020, the occupancy rate of the prisons in the country was 118%. That is, despite the measures taken during the pandemic, the prisons continued to be overcrowded in the country. Further, overcrowding is a bigger problem for male prisoners since the occupancy rate of male prisoners was 121.3% while that of women was only 72.2%. Indian prisons have been overcrowded for many years now. In the last decade, the overall occupancy rate was the lowest in 2011 when it was 112.1% and the highest in 2019 when the occupancy rate crossed 120% for the first time since 2011. In 2020, the occupancy dropped by 1.9 percentage points as compared to 2019.