'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1914-1915' [‎194r] (57/150)

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PRISONS—CIVIL AND CRIMINAL.
PORT,
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ctivelv in f ^
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1 93 " ere 4i'i.
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het a " d<fe *
/persons,
ewasa
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iar xed decrease ii|'
llnn g security^
5S o r s, and UDdert
rom 152,262 torsos
unitary Boards aii(;-
Of the total Dife;
er of youthful olife;
but that of per*,-
- rose from 5351» is
65 in 1913, %
it and whipping Ik
eased from
in 8,565 cases it r :
rom Rs, 6,62,2^1!
579. In 6453®:
s it was between ije
other puniskite
offences fonvlic::
licted for offeoces e:
during the year S;
sere rejected, Iv
persons, eohank
he case of 1,31]' !: '
irv or new trial® :
it" the close oftk®
■ dof by Magistrate-
The total ou* i;
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3 persons,
confirmed lute-
case of iff T
: quashed aMte-
ied pending !tc
; q>
23 to
?
In the Coadsf
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d tfltll
and
oj Chapter III.
PROTECTION.
juveniles imprisoned was 25 as against 23 in the previous year. Of these 3 were sent to
reformatory schools by the District Magistrates.
2. The number of transportations fell from 150 to 96. Twenty-four prisoners escaped Disposal ot prisoners,
as compared with 10 in the previous year. Overcrowding in the jails continues to necessitate
large drafts into the convict gangs.
3. During the year 953 prisoners were sentenced to simple imprisonment, 16,240 to Nature and.length of
rigorous imprisonment, and 9 to rigorous imprisonment with whipping, as compared with sentences -
1 216, 17,323 and 12 in the previous year. Solitary confinement was awarded in 215 cases
as compared with 261 in 1913. The number of cases in which sentences not exceeding one
month were awarded fell from 5,414 to 4,290, of which 1913, i. e., nearly half, were in Bombay
City. Out of 2,831 previously convicted prisoners 2,071 were classed as habituals. This
excludes 1,168 prisoners sentenced under Chapter VIII of the Criminal Procedure Code. The
number of such sentences in Sind was 765, the lowest on record.
4. The number of offences punished by the prison authorities diminished slightly from Punishments.
20,944 to 20,720 in spite of an increase in the average population from 9,534 to 9,731. The
number of offences dealt with by the criminal courts decreased from 42 to 29.
5. During the year 3,326 prisoners were released under the remission system as com- Remission system,
pared with 3,203 in the previous year. The percentage of those actually released to the total
number who might have been released if of average good conduct was 97-3 as against 98-1 in
the previous year. The average number of convicts employed as prison officers was 1,017
males and 12 females.
6. The number of undertrial prisoners shows a decrease of 521. The daily average Undertrial prisoners,
strength fell from 1,857 to The number of escapes among these rose from 13 to 311
while the number of deaths fell from 33 to 23.
7. At the beginning of the year there were 35 male prisoners and one female prisoner Civil prisoners,
in the civil jails and 903 males and 2 females were subsequently admitted. At the close of
the year 65 males only remained in custody. The total cost and the cost per head were
respectively Rs. 5,539 and Rs. 115 as against Rs. 5,018 and Rs. 109 in 1913. #
8. The gross expenditure rose from Rs. 10,67,076 to Rs. 10,90,231 and the cost per Finance,
head from Rs. 93-10-10 to Rs. 96-5-11. The net cash earnings fell from Rs. i, 37 , 9 i 5 to
Rs. 1,17,825.
9. The death rate rose from 15-6 to 18-2 per mille. If the deaths from gunshot wounds Vital statistics,
of the prisoners who attempted to escape from the Belgaum Jail are excluded the death rate
is only i6'4 per mile. Of the 168 prisoners who died m central and district prisons and
extra-mural gangs 43 were in bad health when admitted and of these 21 were suffering from
the disease which ultimately proved fatal. I here were 4 cases of plague in the Common
Prison. All contracted the disease before admission. The disease which gave most trouble
to the authorities was mumps. Admissions into hospital increased by i, 97 2 an( 4 bhe daily
sick rate by 38. Out of the 20,427 prisoners discharged during the year 557 per cent, of
the prisoners gained weight while 23-5 lost weight.
10. Difficulty was experienced in procuring suitable warders for the Borstal Jail at Miscellaneous.
Dharwar. It is hoped that the interest of the public and charitable associations in the juveniles
released from this prison will be aroused. The recently instituted Prisoners Aid Society
was prevented from exercising its activities as financial support was not forthcoming.
7.—Civil Justice.
For details see the Report on the Administration of Civil Justice in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. of Bombay for the year 1914 and
tables under Civil Justice printed in Part VI of the Statistics of British India.
1. The total number of civil cases decided during the year rose from 316,033 to 335 , 93 s - JJV^ ber and value of
The increase in the number of disposals occurs in all kinds of civil cases. Oi the total number of
decided cases, 49 per cent, were regular suits, 4 S ’9 P er c pnt. miscellaneous cases and 2 1 per
cent, appeals as against 47-5, 50 - 3 and 2 - 2 per cent., respectively, auring 1913. Ihe total num
ber of suits instituted in all the courts was 161,944 as against 153,452 in the preceding year,
or a rise of 8,492. There was an increase of 13,309 in the number of suits for money following
an increase of 12,011 in the previous year. There was also an increase in all other kinds of
suits except suits for immovable property, suits to establish a right of pre-emption, mortgage
suits and suits relating to religious and other endowments. 1 he percentage of suits or
money or movable property rose from 787 to 82-8 and that of suits relating to immo\ab e
property (including mortgage and pre-emption suits) fell from 16-7 to 12-4; the percentage
of all other kinds of suits from 4-8 as compared with 4-6 in 1913. Ihe aggregate value ol
suits rose from Rs. 4 , 54 , 49, s 33 t° Rs- 6 , 75 ,o 5 , s 4 s -
2. There were 220,169 suits for disposal before the courts, out of which 164,628 were Disposal of suits,
decided, leaving a balance of 55,541 pending at the close of the year. Ihe corresponding
figures for the previous year were 206,031, 150,213 and 55,818. Of the total number of
decided suits, 39-9 per cent, were decided after contest and it per cent, on reference to
arbitration ; judgment was given for the plaintiff in whole or in part in 84-8 per cent, of these
cases and for the defendant in 15-2 per cent. The average duration of contested suits fell
from 21 o to 191 days in the year under report, but that of uncontested suits rose from 95 to 101.
In the district courts, the average duration was 278 days for contested, and 119 for uncon-