📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
Politics
Parliament Introduces Prison Reform Bill with Tech Surveillance and Open Jail Provisions
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 25 Aug 2026, 05:19 AM
👁 2
A new prison reform bill tabled in Parliament seeks to modernise correctional facilities by introducing technology‑driven surveillance and pilot open‑jail schemes.
New legislation on prison reform was introduced in Parliament, outlining a suite of measures aimed at overhauling India’s correctional system. The draft proposes the deployment of advanced surveillance technologies within prisons to enhance security and monitor inmate activities more efficiently.
A notable feature of the bill is the concept of "open jails," where low‑risk prisoners would serve sentences in less restrictive environments, facilitating rehabilitation and reducing overcrowding. The proposal also calls for systematic reforms in prison administration, including staff training and infrastructure upgrades.
If passed, the bill would mark a shift toward a more technology‑enabled and rehabilitative approach to incarceration, aligning India’s penal policies with contemporary global practices. Lawmakers are expected to debate the provisions in the coming weeks before the bill moves to the cabinet for approval.
A notable feature of the bill is the concept of "open jails," where low‑risk prisoners would serve sentences in less restrictive environments, facilitating rehabilitation and reducing overcrowding. The proposal also calls for systematic reforms in prison administration, including staff training and infrastructure upgrades.
If passed, the bill would mark a shift toward a more technology‑enabled and rehabilitative approach to incarceration, aligning India’s penal policies with contemporary global practices. Lawmakers are expected to debate the provisions in the coming weeks before the bill moves to the cabinet for approval.