West Bengal released 840 prisoners who completed life-term since 2011: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (September 18, 2025) said the State government has released 840 prisoners serving life-terms since 2011, all of whom have served more than 14 years of their sentences.

Ms. Banerjee, in a social media post, added that another 45 inmates are now being released following due legal process. “I extend my congratulations to them and all members of their families. I have learned that their conduct in prison life was good. This release is in recognition of that,” the Chief Minister said.

Emphasising that the work of the correctional system is to change the mindset of criminals and bring them back into the mainstream of society, Ms. Banerjee expressed hope that the freed prisoners will become good citizens.

The prisons in West Bengal have been struggling with high occupancy inside correctional homes including the ‘jankhalash’ prisoners (those who remain in prison even after completing their terms).

The Prison Statistics in India-2022 report states that jails in West Bengal have a total capacity of 19,556 males and 1,920 females. However, as of December 21, 2021, the State has housed 26,994 males and 1,778 females, and 17 transgenders, which is housing 1.3 times their capacity.

RTI activist Sair Ahamed has obtained data on the steady rise in the total number of prisoners, from 23,810 in January 2019 to 28,789 in January 2022. The rise is steeper in the case of ‘jankhalash’ prisoner from 277 (226 males and 51 females) in 2019 to 401 (358 males and 43 females) in 2022. Since a considerable number of prisoners in West Bengal are Bangladeshi nationals, they continue to languish in the prison after completing their term.