During proceedings at the Calcutta High Court on Thursday, it was disclosed that female prisoners were becoming pregnant while under custody in prisons across West Bengal. It was reported that approximately 196 babies had been born to women in various jails within the state.

During the mention of a case concerning prison reforms and correctional homes in West Bengal, an amicus curiae made the submission regarding the pregnancies of women prisoners and the births of approximately 196 babies in jails across the state.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya expressed grave concern over the submission and decided to refer the matter to another division bench specializing in criminal cases. The bench stated that the issue would be presented before the appropriate division bench during the hearing scheduled for the upcoming Monday.

'' One such issue is woman prisoners while in custody are getting pregnant and at present there are as many as 196 babies staying in different prisons of West Bengal,” the Court recorded.

In response to these concerns, the amicus proposed a measure wherein male staff members of correctional homes would be barred from entering areas designated for women prisoners.