New Delhi [India], August 23 (ANI): The Delhi government has prepared a plan to transfer undertrial gangsters, organised criminals and other high-risk prisoners lodged in the capital's jails to prisons in other states, if required.
For this, the government will implement the Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2025, in Delhi.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the move aims to enable the interstate transfer of such prisoners in the interest of prison security, law and order and public interest, while strengthening cooperation among states in tackling organised crime, a press statement said.
Under the Delhi government's proposal, undertrial gangsters, organised criminals and other high-risk prisoners can be transferred from one state to another with the mutual consent of the states concerned or the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The move is also expected to make the criminal justice system more effective and help improve prison management.
A large number of hardened and notorious criminals are lodged as undertrials alongside convicts in Delhi's jails. In May 2026, 188 members belonging to 26 identified gangs were identified in Delhi, of whom 107 gangsters had been arrested. Such hardened undertrials continue to engage in violent activities, including targeted killings, extortion, gang rivalry, threats and organised criminal conspiracies, even from inside prisons.
Further, as per the statement, under the existing system, such undertrial gangsters and notorious criminals cannot be transferred from Delhi's prisons to those in other states. The Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1950 provides for the transfer of convicted prisoners only. Undertrials, meanwhile, are kept in custody under special remand warrants issued by the concerned trial court, and their transfer is governed by the Prisons Act, 1900, which permits the transfer of prisoners only within a state.
To address this legal gap, the Punjab government had introduced the Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2025. The amendment received the President's assent on April 21, 2025. The amended law provides for the transfer of undertrial prisoners from one state to another to maintain security and law and order or in the public interest.
Judicial proceedings, wherever required, will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Delhi government has proposed to implement this amended system in the capital, enabling serious and high-risk undertrials to be transferred to prisons in other states, depending on the circumstances.
Some hardened undertrial criminals misuse the welfare and reformative facilities available in Delhi's prisons to influence the trial process and expand their criminal activities. Even while in jail, they can use local networks and contacts with other gangs to expand their alliances. There have also been instances of gang wars and retaliatory actions among such prisoners.
The Delhi government believes that shifting such hardened and notorious undertrials to prisons outside Delhi can reduce their ability to influence witnesses and disrupt trial proceedings. It can also help curb their criminal activities and reduce the serious threats they pose to the life, liberty and property of citizens, the statement said.
Section 20 of the Model Prison and Correctional Services Act, 2023 provides that a person serving a sentence of imprisonment or death in a prison of a state, or a person detained for failing to pay a fine or provide security for maintaining peace or good behaviour, may be transferred by the government of that state to a prison in another state through an order issued with the mutual consent of the government of the other state. Section 20 also provides for the transfer of undertrial prisoners from one state to another. For this, the consent of the trial court is required.
With the extension of the Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2025, to Delhi, an effective legal framework will be available for the interstate transfer of undertrial gangsters and other high-risk prisoners. This will strengthen prison security and management while also improving coordination among states in the fight against organised crime and enhancing the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. (ANI)
Delhi govt plans interstate transfer of undertrial gangsters, high-risk prisoners to strengthen prison security
