The Supreme Court has sought updated details from all states and Union Territories relating to prisons, including the sanctioned capacity of each jail and steps taken to address overcrowding, by May 18.In its March 17 order, a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta also directed the states and UTs to furnish details regarding the number of women’s prisons in their respective jurisdictions, along with the facilities available there and measures taken to ensure the education and overall welfare of children living with female inmates.Senior advocate and amicus curiae Gaurav Agrawal — assisting the Bench in a suo motu case on inhuman conditions in prisons — drew the court’s attention to the fact that the data placed on record by the states and UTs pertained to 2023.The Bench said the updated data should include the jail-wise sanctioned capacity of each prison, the total number of inmates, the percentage of overcrowding in each facility and steps proposed to tackle the issue. It also sought details of women’s prisons, facilities provided to women inmates and children accompanying them, including educational and medical support.Further, the court asked for information on the sanctioned strength of prison staff, existing vacancies and measures taken to fill them, along with other ancillary aspects of prison administration.The Bench directed the states and UTs to furnish complete particulars indicating the sanctioned capacity of each prison and the total number of inmates lodged as on March 1, 2026, along with jail-wise details reflecting occupancy levels.It said the states and UTs would file comprehensive affidavits, duly sworn by their respective Home Secretaries, providing the requisite details by May 18. The matter has been posted for further hearing on May 26.The court also asked its Registry to forward copies of the affidavits received from the states and UTs to Agrawal for preparing a comprehensive note on the statistics and information submitted.