The Centre has extended the Punjab Police and Correctional Services Act, 2026, to the union territory (UT) of Chandigarh, introducing provisions for inter-state prisoner transfers, mainly between Chandigarh and other states or union territories.The other provisions relate to prison security, rehabilitation and safeguards for inmates with disabilities, according to a Union Home Ministry notification.The ministry issued the notification on November 6 under Section 87 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, extending the Punjab legislation to Chandigarh with certain modifications to suit the UT’s administrative structure.The changes are primarily technical and align the provisions with Chandigarh’s administrative framework, replacing references to the Punjab Government with the appropriate UT authorities.The move comes against the backdrop of the Centre’s Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023, introduced as part of efforts to reform prison administration and correctional services across the country.A key provision of the amended legislation allows the transfer of prisoners lodged in Chandigarh jails to prisons in other states or Union Territories and vice versa. Prisoners serving sentences, including life imprisonment, can be transferred with the consent of the government concerned and an order issued by the Chandigarh Administrator.The amendments also provide for the transfer of undertrial prisoners from Chandigarh to another state or Union Territory in the interest of security, maintenance of law and order or public interest. Such transfers will require the consent of the governments concerned and approval of the court before which the trial is pending, according to the notification.The notification states that prisoners confined in Chandigarh jails under sentences of imprisonment or death, or in default of payment of a fine or furnishing security for maintaining peace and good behaviour, may be transferred to prisons in other states or Union Territories, subject to the prescribed approvals.Apart from facilitating inter-state prisoner transfers, the amended law is expected to bring changes in other aspects of prison administration. These include provisions relating to the monitoring and follow-up of convicts after their release and changes in the use of electronic surveillance systems inside prisons.Further, consumption of tobacco products in jails has also now been made illegal, which was previously not so, as per the officials.The amendments also introduce restrictions on the operation of aerial objects within designated no-fly zones around prison premises. Such operations will be permitted only after obtaining the requisite authorisation from the competent authority under the applicable civil aviation law and prior approval of the concerned department.