High-risk prisoners may be transferred to other states from Delhi

The Delhi government has announced plans to transfer high-risk prisoners, including undertrial gangsters and organized criminals, to prisons outside the capital city under the Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2025. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stated that the move aims to enhance prison security, maintain law and order, and safeguard public interest by reducing the potential influence of these hardened offenders on trial proceedings and their propensity to continue criminal activities.

Currently, only convicted prisoners can be moved between states under the existing Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1950. The Prisons Act, 1900, which governs undertrial prisoners, prohibits their transfer to facilities in other states. This restriction has raised significant security concerns in Delhi's prisons, where in May 2026, 188 members belonging to 26 identified gangs were housed, with 107 having been arrested.

These hardened undertrials continue to engage in violent activities within prisons, such as targeted killings, extortion, gang rivalry, threats, and organized criminal conspiracies.

The Punjab government introduced the Transfer of Prisoners (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2025, which received presidential approval on April 21, 2025. The amended law allows for the interstate transfer of undertrial prisoners for the purpose of maintaining security, law, and order, or in the public interest. Under Delhi's proposed implementation, undertrial gangsters and high-risk criminals can be transferred to another state with the mutual consent of the involved states or the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The judicial proceedings following such transfers will adhere to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Officials noted that some hardened undertrial criminals exploit the welfare and reformative facilities available in Delhi's prisons to influence trial processes and expand their criminal activities. Even while incarcerated, they utilize local networks and contacts with other gangs to broaden their criminal alliances. Instances of gang wars and retaliatory actions among these prisoners have also been documented.