The Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh announced on Monday, 25 May 2026 that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to prepare a special action plan for 'open jails' and ordered the listing of vulnerable prisoner categories — including the elderly, the terminally ill, women with children, and those unable to pay bail — as part of a broader push to reform the state's correctional system.

Context

Addressing prison officials, CM Yogi described the open-jail concept as useful, stating that 'केवल पेशेवर अपराधी और माफिया तत्वों को जेलों में रखने की आवश्यकता है' ('only professional criminals and mafia elements need to be kept in jails'), while minor offences should be handled through a reformative approach. He directed that lists be prepared of prisoners aged 75 years and above, inmates suffering from incurable diseases, women lodged in jail with their children, and undertrials who cannot deposit bail amounts.

The directive signals a deliberate bifurcation: hardened and organised criminals remain behind bars, while low-risk or vulnerable individuals are considered for alternative arrangements. This is consistent with CM Yogi's twin-track governance style — strict law enforcement against organised crime alongside rehabilitative measures for marginal offenders.

Policy Backdrop

India's Model Prison Manual 2016 had recommended open correctional facilities and differentiated treatment for habitual versus casual offenders, providing a national policy foundation for state-level experiments. Uttar Pradesh, which manages India's largest prison population, has periodically announced new jail construction since 2017 to address chronic overcrowding.

Open jails — where selected low-risk inmates are permitted to work and reside under limited supervision outside conventional prison walls — have been operational in states such as Rajasthan for decades. The UP government's move to formalise an action plan brings the state closer to mainstreaming this model. The Supreme Court of India has also issued directions over the years urging states to reduce undertrial populations, adding judicial weight to such reforms.

Stakeholders and Impact

The four categories identified by CM Yogi — elderly prisoners above 75, terminally ill inmates, women with children in custody, and those unable to furnish bail — represent among the most vulnerable segments of the prison population. Their identification is a precondition for any early-release, parole, or open-jail placement scheme.

For Uttar Pradesh's prison administration, the order also mandates time-bound completion of ongoing construction projects and prioritisation of multi-storey jail facilities to address decongestion. Land scarcity in a densely populated state makes vertical construction a practical necessity. Minor offenders and undertrial prisoners stand to benefit most directly from the reformative shift being signalled.

What's Next

Officials are now expected to compile the directed prisoner lists and present a special action plan for open jails to the Chief Minister's Office. The timeline for completing under-construction prison projects will be a key indicator of whether the decongestion drive translates into measurable relief. Advocates for prison reform will watch whether the open-jail framework is backed by dedicated infrastructure, staffing, and a legal framework for supervised release.

If implemented at scale, Uttar Pradesh's open-jail model could serve as a template for other large Indian states grappling with similar overcrowding and undertrial crises — placing the state at the centre of a national conversation on humane and efficient corrections policy.