New Delhi, Aug 24: The Delhi government is planning to introduce a mechanism to transfer high-risk undertrial prisoners, including alleged gang members and organised crime suspects, to prisons in other states as part of efforts to strengthen prison security and tackle criminal activities, officials said.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the proposed move is aimed at protecting prison security, maintaining law and order and safeguarding public interest. It is also expected to improve coordination between states in dealing with organised criminal networks.Under the existing legal framework, interstate transfers are primarily permitted for convicted prisoners under the Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1950.
Undertrial prisoners, whose cases are still pending before courts, are generally governed by provisions of the Prisons Act, 1900, which limit their movement to prisons within the same state.Officials said the existing restrictions have created security challenges, particularly in cases involving alleged members of organised gangs who are accused of continuing criminal activities while in custody.
According to government data cited by officials, Delhi’s prisons housed 188 members of 26 identified gangs in May this year. Of them, 107 had been arrested, officials said.
Authorities have raised concerns that some high-risk undertrials may attempt to influence witnesses, maintain contact with associates outside prison, coordinate extortion activities or participate in gang rivalries and criminal conspiracies.
The proposed system is based on the Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2025, enacted by Punjab and receiving Presidential assent on April 21 last year.
The amended law allows interstate transfer of undertrial prisoners in situations involving prison security, maintenance of law and order or public interest.Under Delhi’s proposed arrangement, an undertrial could be shifted to a prison in another state with the mutual consent of the states concerned or approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Officials said the transfer would relate only to the place of custody and would not automatically alter the court handling the criminal case. Judicial proceedings would continue in accordance with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
The Delhi government believes that moving selected high-risk prisoners away from their established networks could make it harder for them to influence witnesses, communicate with local criminal associates or coordinate activities from within prison.
Officials also pointed to incidents of gang conflicts and retaliatory actions involving inmates as an additional security concern.The proposed measure is part of the Delhi government’s broader efforts to strengthen prison administration and disrupt organised criminal networks that operate across state boundaries.
