Poor Prisoners to Get Financial Support from Central Govt

New Delhi: The Centre has decided to launch a special scheme to provide financial support to prisoners who are unable to afford the penalty or the bail amount.

The scheme named Support for Prisoners will enable poor prisoners, the majority of whom belong to socially disadvantaged or marginalized groups with lower education and income level, to get out of prison.

The Home Ministry said that the broad contours of the scheme have been finalized in consultation with concerned stakeholders. It said the Centre will provide financial support to States to extend relief to those poor prisoners who are unable to avail of bail or get released from prison due to non-payment of fines.

Prisons are an important part of the Criminal Justice System and play a significant role in upholding the rule of law. The Home Ministry has been taking various steps to address the issue of undertrials in prisons and has been sharing important guidelines with State Governments from time to time.

It has also been providing financial support to the State Governments for enhancing and modernizing the security infrastructure in prisons.